Mark Szakonyi, Associate Editor | Sep 13, 2012 6:10PM EDT
Intermodal shipments on major railroads rose 3.1 percent year-over-year in the week ending Sept. 8 but plummeted 13.9 percent from the prior week, according to the Association of American Railroads.
Carload traffic fell 2.3 percent year-over-year and 7 percent from the prior week. Shipments of metallic ores, grain, primary forest products, iron and steel scrap, and waste and nonferrous scrap fell on a double-digit basis. Coal volume dropped 9.1 percent year-over-year.
Year to date, intermodal traffic is up 3.7 percent from the same period in 2011, while railcar traffic was down 2.4 percent in the same period.
Canadian intermodal volume in the week ending Sept. 8 rose 7.3 percent year-over-year, and carload volume expanded 2.8 percent. Year to date, Canadian intermodal volume is up 6.9 percent year-over-year, and carload traffic is up 2.8 percent.
Mexican intermodal volume last week increased 5.8 percent year-over-year, and carload traffic rose 5.1 percent. In the first 36 weeks of 2012, intermodal traffic rose 18.1 percent from the same period in 2011, but carload volume was down 0.3 percent.
Contact Mark Szakonyi at mszakonyi@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @szakonyi_joc.
