During the week ended 28 December, chemical railcar traffic in North America decreased 3.1 percent year-over-year on declines throughout the region. According to data released on 3 January by the Association of American Railroads, the volume totalled 40,741 carloads, down 10.6 percent from the previous week.
On a four-week basis, volume declined 5 percent year-over-year. While increasing 2.5 percent from 2017, total volume for 2019 declined 1.5 percent from 2018.
Chemical railcar traffic in the US contributed 28,874 carloads to the weekly total, down 1.2 percent year-over-year and down 10.8 percent from the previous week. For the year, US chemical railcar traffic declined 0.6 percent from 2018.
Chemical railcar traffic in Mexico totalled 857 carloads, a year-over-year decrease of 12.0 percent and a sequential decrease of 7.8 percent. For the year, Mexican chemical railcar traffic declined 6.6 percent from 2018.
