All Class 1 Railroads Lost Traffic in 2020

All North American Class 1 railroads lost traffic volume in 2020, but some lost more than others.

Weekly carload reports issued by the Association of American Railroads show that Canadian Pacific suffered the least loss of traffic.

CP’s volume fell 2.2 percent compared to the average 6.8 percent decline of the big six systems.

CSX posted a 5.7 percent decline in overall traffic in 2020 but also had the industry’s largest intermodal gain for the year at 1.5 percent.

Canadian National had overall volume decline of 6.1 percent. Other traffic declines posted by Class 1 carriers included Union Pacific, down 7 percent; BNSF, down 7.6 percent; and Norfolk Southern, down 11.9 percent.

NS sustained the steepest declines among Class 1 carriers in intermodal, carload, and coal traffic.

Tags: BNSF, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, CSX, Norfolk Souhern, North American Class 1 railroads, railroad freight traffic, railroad freight volume, Union Pacific