UpdateCanada weekly chemical railcar traffic rises 6.9%

01 December 2011 18:29  [Source: ICIS news]

(updates with Canadian and Mexican chemical railcar traffic data)

TORONTO (ICIS)--Chemical shipments on Canadian railroads rose 6.9% year on year in the week ended on 26 November, according to data released by an industry association on Thursday.

Canadian chemical railcar loadings for the week totalled 10,518, up from 9,835 in the same week a year earlier, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said.

The previous week ended 19 November saw a year-on-year increase 2.3% in Canadian chemical railcar shipments.

The weekly chemical railcar loadings data are seen as an important real-time measure of chemical industry activity and demand. Canada’s chemical industry transports two-thirds of its annual shipments on the country’s railway system.

Year to date to 26 November, Canadian chemical railcar shipments were up by 9.1% to 522,419.

The AAR said chemical railcar traffic in Mexico rose by 4.7% year on year to 1,061 car loadings, from 1,013 in the same week a year earlier.

Year to date to 26 November, Mexican chemical railcar shipments were up by 6.5% to 55,175.

US chemical railcar traffic fell 2.3% year on year for the week ended 26 November, marking its fifth decline so far this year.

There were 24,504 chemical railcar loadings last week, compared with 25,079 in the same week in 2010. In the previous week ended 19 November, US weekly chemical railcar traffic rose by 1.4%.

Meanwhile, overall US weekly railcar traffic for the 19 high-volume freight commodity groups tracked by the AAR rose by rose by 4.0% year on year, to 265,304 carloads.

For all of North America, total railcar traffic for the week ended 26 November rose by 4.6% to 353,210.

Paul Hodges studies key influencers shaping the chemical industry in his Chemicals and the Economy blog

By: Stefan Baumgarten
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