WASHINGTON — The Thanksgiving holiday once again made for a big change in U.S. weekly rail traffic. This time, that change was negative.
Traffic was down 13.8% from the same week in 2023, a week after it showed a whopping 25.6% gain. The biggest factor, in both cases, was when Thanksgiving fell — in the 47th week of 2023 and the 48th week of 2024 — with less traffic moved because of the holiday.
According to the Association of American Railroads, total traffic for the week ending Nov. 30 was 439,362 carloads and intermodal units. That included 189,746 carloads, a drop of 19.9% from the same week in 2023, and 249,616 containers and trailers, down 8.5%.
Through 48 weeks, carload volume is down 3.1% compared to the same point in 2023, while intermodal traffic is up 9.1%. The combined volume is up 3.2% compared to the first 48 weeks of 2023.
The drop in U.S. traffic also made for declines in weekly North American stats, as reported by nine U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads. They moved 292,216 carloads, down 16.1% from a year earlier, and 331,822 intermodal units, down 6.6%. That made for an overall decline of 11.3% compared to the same week in 2023.
Year-to-date North American figures show a 2.2% increase in overall traffic. That includes a 0.9% decline in Canada through 48 weeks and a 3% gain in Mexico compared to the same period a year ago.
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