AAR: Carloads, Intermodal Fall in Week 28
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
U.S. rail traffic for the week ending July 16, 2022 (Week 28) was 498,899 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.8% from the same week last year, according to the Association of American Railroads’ July 20 report.
It is the 21st consecutive week that total traffic has declined. (Total traffic gains were last seen in Week 7, which ended Feb. 17, 2022.)
Total carloads for the week ending July 16, 2022, came in at 229,809, down 2.4%, while U.S. intermodal volume of 269,090 containers and trailers fell 3.2% from the prior-year period.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2021. They were nonmetallic minerals, up 2,211 carloads, to 33,017; farm products excluding grain, and food, up 1,099 carloads, to 16,695; and motor vehicles and parts, up 867 carloads, to 12,916. Commodity groups that posted decreases included coal, down 3,545 carloads, to 65,634; miscellaneous carloads, down 2,295 carloads, to 8,496; and grain, down 2,265 carloads, to 18,752.
For the first 28 weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 6,431,176 carloads, down 0.3% from the same point last year; and 7,377,966 intermodal units, down 6%. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 28 weeks of the year was 13,809,142 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.4% decrease from 2021.
North American rail volume for the week ending July 16, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 325,650 carloads, down 0.8% vs. the prior-year period, and 355,716 intermodal units, down 1%. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 681,366 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.9%. North American rail volume for the first 28 weeks of 2022 was 18,852,354 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.3% fall-off compared with 2021.
Canadian railroads reported 73,518 carloads for the week, rising 4.6%, and 70,728 intermodal units, increasing 11.1% from the same week in 2021. For the first 28 weeks of 2022, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 4,007,538 carloads, containers and trailers, dropping 4% from last year.
Mexican railroads reported 22,323 carloads for the week, a 1.4% decrease from the same point in 2021, and 15,898 intermodal units, an 11.1% decline. Their cumulative volume for the first 28 weeks of 2022 was 1,035,674 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 0.7% from the prior-year period.
