U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes are mixed for the week ending December 5, reports AAR

United States rail carload and intermodal volumes were mixed for the week ending December 5, according to data issued this week by the美国协会Railroads (AAR).

Rail carloads—at 244,986—were off 1.4% annually, topping the week ending November 28, at 206,288, which had lower volumes, due to the timing of Thanksgiving, and also ahead of the week ending November 21, at 233,478.

AAR said that five 10 carload commodity groups it tracks posted annual gains, including: grain, up 4,757 carloads, to 27,950; chemicals, up 4,043 carloads, to 36,294; and farm products excluding grain, and food, up 1,365 carloads, to 17,494. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included coal, down 7,535 carloads, to 65,192; nonmetallic minerals, down 3,304 carloads, to 28,714; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 1,871 carloads, to 11,710.

Intermodal containers and trailers—at 297,217—saw a 10.5% annual gain, well ahead of the Thanksgiving-impacted 246,504 units, for the week ending November 28, and also outpacing the 233,478, for the week ending November 21.

Through the first 49 weeks of 2020, AAR reported that rail carloads—at 10,625,755—were off 13.6% annually, and intermodal units—at 12,638,146—dipped 2.9%, for the same period.