U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes are mixed for week ending May 18, reports AAR

TheAssociation of American Railroads (AAR)reported this week that United States rail carload and intermodal volumes were mixed for the week ending May 18.

Rail carloads, at 267,006, were up 2.2% annually, topping the week ending May 11 at 258,641 and trailing the week ending May 4 at 268,559.

AAR said that five of the ten carload commodity groups posted annual gains, including: coal, up 5,696 carloads, to 84,256; petroleum and petroleum products, up 2,511 carloads, to 13,165; and chemicals, up 1,794 carloads, to 33,646. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2018 included nonmetallic minerals, down 3,657 carloads, to 37,190; forest products, down 655 carloads, to 9,983; and miscellaneous carloads, down 432 carloads, to 9,422.

Intermodal containers and trailers, at 269,352, were down 5.5% and trailed the week ending May 11 at 270,622 and topped the week ending May 4 at 266,530.

Through the first 20 weeks of 2019, U.S. rail carloads are down 2.1% annually at 5,031,359, and intermodal units, at 5,339,107, are down 1.9%.