What Pushed Canadian National Railway’s Rail Traffic in Week 19?

In Week 19, Canada’s largest rail carrier, Canadian National Railway (CNI), reported a 7.5% YoY (year-over-year) rise in carload traffic. It moved ~65,200 carloads that week compared to ~60,700 in Week 19 of 2017. Its carload growth was almost the same as the 7.9% rise reported by Canadian railroads in the same category. Compared to US railroads’ 5.3% gain that week, CNI’s carload growth was higher. However, it lagged behind competitor Canadian Pacific Railway’s (CP) 9.2% YoY carload volumes growth.