U.S. freight carload traffic fell 0.5% during the week ending Oct. 22, 2011, measured against the comparable week of 2010, the Association of American Railroads said. But U.S. intermodal volume rose 4.2% for the week compared with a year ago.
AAR said 10 of its 20 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2010, including: nonmetallic minerals, up 22.4%; iron and steel scrap, up 20.9%, and metals and products, up 19.2%. Groups showing a decrease in weekly traffic included: grain, down 25.6%, and coke, down 11.5%.
Canadian freight carload volume, by contrast, rose 7.0% for the week compared with the same week last year, and with Canadian intermodal also up, advancing 1.6%. Mexican freight carload volume rose 4.1% compared with the same week last year, but intermodal fell 1.1%.
Combined North American freight carload volume for the first 42 weeks of 2011 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads was up 2.0% compared with the same period in 2010, while combined intermodal outpaced the 2010 level by 5.1%.
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AAR said 10 of its 20 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2010, including: nonmetallic minerals, up 22.4%; iron and steel scrap, up 20.9%, and metals and products, up 19.2%. Groups showing a decrease in weekly traffic included: grain, down 25.6%, and coke, down 11.5%. 
