Mark Szakonyi, Associate Editor | Apr 05, 2012 4:25PM EDT
U.S. intermodal rail shipments in the week ending March 31 rose 3.6 percent year-over-year and 4.5 percent from the previous week, according to the Association of American Railroads.
Carload traffic declined 6.2 percent year-over-year, but rose 3 percent from the week before. A 17.2 percent year-over-year increase in motor vehicle and equipment traffic, along with a 38.2 percent surge in petroleum product volume, helped offset double-digit declines in coal, grain and nonmetallic mineral shipments.
Intermodal volume in March increased 3.5 percent year-over-year, while carload traffic fell 5.8 percent in the same period. For the first 13 weeks of 2012, intermodal traffic rose 2.5 percent from the same period a year ago, and carload volume dropped 2.5 percent in the same period.
Canadian intermodal volume in the week ending March 31 grew 12.4 percent year-over-year, and carload volume inched up 0.8 percent in the same period. So far this year, Canadian intermodal volume is up 6.9 percent year-over-year, and carload traffic has increased 5.4 percent.
Mexican intermodal volume last week skyrocketed 27.8 percent year-over-year, while carload traffic fell 3.4 percent in the same period. In the first 13 weeks of 2012, intermodal traffic rose 22.7 percent from the same period in 2011, and carload volume dropped 5.8 percent in the same period.
Contact Mark Szakonyi at mszakonyi@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @szakonyi_joc.