By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic rose 10.3% last week, paced again by surging intermodal volume in the U.S. and Canada, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume slipped 0.2% for the week ended March 13 on a dozen reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, while intermodal traffic jumped 21.5%, the trade group said Wednesday.

Analysts at Cowen noted that in a recent meeting with rail industry leaders, first-quarter commentary was bullish despite February's severe winter weather, and that demand in the intermodal sector is surging. Cowen said some railroads have implemented a spring surcharge in an attempt to control equipment shortages and imbalances while taking advantage of the strong demand.

In the week ended March 6, North American rail traffic rose 9.2%. For the first 10 weeks of the year, North American rail traffic is up 2.8%.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic rose 12.5% last week amid a 22.4% rise in the volume of intermodal containers and trailers. Carloads rose 2.1%. U.S. rail traffic is up 2.7% for the first 10 weeks of the year.

Canadian rail traffic rose 8.1% last week, as a 22.9% jump in intermodal units more than offset a 2.6% decline in carloads. Canadian rail traffic is up 5.6% for the first 10 weeks of the year.

Mexican rail traffic fell 6.9% last week amid a 13.4% slide in carloads. Intermodal units rose 2.7%. For the year to date, Mexican rail traffic is down 5.8%, the AAR said.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 17, 2021 12:58 ET (16:58 GMT)

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