The number of US coal carloads transported in the week that ended June 9 jumped to 85,160 

from  76,242  a week earlier, the Association of American Railroads said Wednesday. It was t

he highest weekly volume seen since 87,348 were transported in the week that ended March 

24. 

For the second straight week, however, the latest week was down 0.3% from 85,516 in the 

year-ago  week  and  was  only the fourth time in the last 16 weeks to track lower than the 

corresponding week of 2017. 

Coal carloads represented 15.2% of all the traffic on US railways, up from 15% a week earli

er, but down from 15.7% in the year-ago week. 

Coal originations on Canadian railroads -- including the US operations of Canadian National, 

which serves several mines in the Illinois Basin -- climbed to 7,467, up from a 13-week low of 

6,538 a week earlier and also up from 7,205 in the year-ago week. 

It was the second time that all four major Class I railroads saw week-on-week increases and 

was the fifth such occurrence this year. 

Of  the  four  major  Class I railroads, BNSF saw the biggest weekly increase, with carloads 

jumping 17.5% to 36,226. That total was also 5% higher than the year-ago week's. 

Since January 1, BNSF coal carloads are up to 801,744, down 1.1% compared with the yea

r-ago period. 

Union Pacific reported a 14-week high of 21,840 in the latest week, up 14.7% from the prior 

week, but down 9.5% from the year-ago week. So far in 2018, UP carloads are up to 463,60

4, down 5.7% from the same period a year earlier. 

Norfolk  Southern  and  CSX  reported carloads of 20,248 and 15,318, up 12.4% and 1.6%, 

respectively, from the previous week. Since January, cumulative carload totals for NS and CS

X are up to 432,881 and 352,538, down 1.2% and up 3.7%, respectively, compared with the 

year-ago period.