North American rail traffic down 0.8% for the week ending September16

The Association of American Railroads or AAR reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending September 16. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 489,790 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.8% compared with the same week last year.Total carloads for the week ending September 16 were 232,723 carloads, up 0.2% compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 257,067 containers and trailers, up 3.3% compared to 2022. Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 2,410 carloads, to 16,233; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,498 carloads, to 10,393; and chemicals, up 1,072 carloads, to 32,758. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 included coal, down 3,518 carloads, to 69,268; grain, down 1,581 carloads, to 16,294; and nonmetallic minerals, down 637 carloads, to 33,914. North American rail volume for the week ending September 16, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 341,118 carloads, down 0.6% compared with the same week last year, and 339,525 intermodal units, down 1% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 680,643 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.8%. Publicly traded companies in the space include CSX (CSX), Canadian National (CNI), Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP), Kansas City Southern (KSU), Norfolk Southern (NSC), Union Pacific (UNP), Greenbrier (GBX), Trinity Industries (TRN), Wabtec (WAB), Rail Vision, (RVSN) and FreightCar America (RAIL).