Mark Szakonyi, Associate Editor | Mar 29, 2012 4:21PM EDT
U.S. intermodal rail shipments in the week ending March 24 rose 4.2 percent year-over-year and 2.3 percent from the week before, according to the Association of American Railroads.
Carload traffic fell 7.2 percent year-over-year, as shipments of grain dropped 14.2 percent and coal volume plunged 17.4 percent. Petroleum product traffic is up 32 percent year-over-year, while shipments of motor vehicles and equipment rose 15.5 percent in the same period.
For the first 12 weeks of 2012, intermodal traffic was up 2.4 percent year-over-year, while carload volume was down 2.2 percent within the same period.
Canadian intermodal volume rose 10.7 percent year-over-year in the week ending March 24, and carload traffic inched up 0.4 percent in the same period. So far this year, Canadian intermodal volume is up 5.8 percent year-over-year, and carload traffic has increased 5.8 percent.
Mexican intermodal volume in the last week rose 32 percent year-over-year, and carload traffic expanded 1.7 percent in the same period. For the first 12 weeks of the year, intermodal traffic grew 23.3 percent on a year-over-year basis, but carload volume declined 6 percent in the same period.
Contact Mark Szakonyi at mszakonyi@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @szakonyi_joc.