North America’s chemical railcar traffic showed some firming last week. Volume remained significantly down year-over-year. However, the deficit did not deepen. On a four-week basis, volume declined 12 percent from 2019 and 11.3 percent from 2018, improving slightly from the 12.8 percent and 11.8 percent declines of the previous week.
Down 1.9 percent from the previous week and down 10.5 percent YOY, railcar loadings totalled 39,854 carloads during the week ended 30 May. Chemical railcar traffic in North America for the year to date is down 4.3 percent from 2018 and down 3.4 percent from 2019.
Down 15.2 percent YOY and down 6.4 percent from the previous week, chemical railcar traffic in the US contributed 26,714 carloads to the weekly total. US chemical railcar traffic for the year to date is down 3.5 percent.
Up 2.0 percent YOY and up 10.4 percent from the previous week, Canadian chemical rail traffic totalled 12,299 carloads. Canadian chemical railcar traffic for the year to date is down 3.1 percent. Chemical railcar traffic in Mexico totalled 841 carloads, a sequential decrease of 11.2 percent. Mexican chemical railcar traffic for the year to date is down 4.3 percent.
