By Colin Kellaher 



  North American rail traffic fell 15.4% last week, a slight improvement from a week earlier, as the economic freeze from the coronavirus pandemic continues to thaw, data from the Association of American Railroads showed. 


  Carload volume slid 21% for the week ended June 6 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, while intermodal traffic fell 9.8% for the week, the trade group said Wednesday. 


  In the week ended May 30, North American rail traffic fell 16.5%. For the first 23 weeks of the year, North American traffic is down 11.7%, compared with a year-to-date decline of 11.6% reported a week earlier. 


  The AAR said U.S. rail traffic fell 15.6% last week, with carloads down 22%, and the volume of intermodal containers and trailers off 9.6%. 


  U.S. rail traffic is now down 13.1% for the year to date, the AAR said, compared with a year-to-date decline of 13% reported a week earlier. 


  Canadian rail traffic fell 14% last week, as carloads slid 18.7% and intermodal units fell 8.4%. Canadian rail traffic is down 7.6% for the first 23 weeks of the year. 


  Mexican rail traffic tumbled 18.5% for the week, and saw an 18.6% drop in carloads and an 18.3% decline in intermodal units. Mexican rail traffic is now down 9.8% for the year, the AAR said. 


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