US coal volumes of 69,973 carloads in the week ended January 6 were 6.1% below year-ago levels, the Association of American Railroads said Wednesday.
The four major US railroads -- BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific -- all reported coal volumes below totals the first week of last year.
However, nationwide coal totals were up 7.9% over the previous week during the Christmas holiday.
Canadian railroads -- which include the US operations of Canadian National, which serves several mines in the Illinois Basin, and Canadian Pacific -- saw originations climb 2.1% year on year to 6,516 coal carloads.
