AAR: Weekly freight rail traffic down 14.1 percent from year ago

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) recently reported freight rail traffic data for the week ended April 9.

Over the course of the week, U.S. railways carried 479,059 carloads and intermodal units, down 14.1 percent from the same week in 2015.

Of the 10 tracked carload commodity groups, motor vehicles and parts, and miscellaneous commodities were the only ones to register growth, while petroleum and petroleum products, coal, grain and the five remaining commodity groups reported declines.

The AAR said 13 railroads in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. reported 315,661 carloads over the course of the week, down 18 percent from a year ago, and 317,414 intermodal units, down 7.4 percent.

Over the first 14 weeks of the year, these railroads reported 9,127,695 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.6 percent from a year ago.