AAR: Decreased Coal Shipments Cause U.S. Rail Declines in April

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“U.S. Rail carloads declined in April primarily due to decreased coal shipments,” said Association of American Railroads (AAR) Chief Economist Rand Ghayad.

For the fourth month of 2024, U.S. railroads originated 848,882 carloads, down 6.5%, or 58,751 carloads, from April 2023, according to a May 1 AAR report.

U.S. railroads also originated 1,018,569 containers and trailers in April 2024, up 8.6%, or 80,471 units, from the same month last year. Combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations in April 2024 were 1,867,451, up 1.2%, or 21,720 carloads and intermodal units from April 2023.

In April 2024, nine of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR each month saw carload gains compared with April 2023. These included: motor vehicles & parts, up 7,191 carloads or 12.1%; petroleum & petroleum products, up 4,967 carloads or 13.8%; and chemicals, up 3,686 carloads or 2.9%. Commodities that saw declines in April 2024 from April 2023 included: coal, down 71,885 carloads or 28.0%; metallic ores, down 4,113 carloads or 16.9%; and crushed stone, sand & gravel, down 3,856 carloads or 4.4%.

“Excluding coal, year-over-year carload volumes have experienced a three-month consecutive increase,” said Ghayad. “In April, out of the 20 carload categories monitored, 9 showed growth, with several experiencing marginal declines. Additionally, sustained consumer spending and heightened port activity contributed to the eighth consecutive year-over-year rise in intermodal traffic for April.”

Excluding coal, carloads were up 13,134 carloads, or 2.0%, in April 2024 from April 2023. Excluding coal and grain, carloads were up 9,541 carloads, or 1.7%.

Total U.S. carload traffic for the first four months of 2024 was 3,622,709 carloads, down 4.8%, or 180,839 carloads, from the same period last year; and 4,287,216 intermodal units, up 9.0%, or 352,709 containers and trailers, from last year.

Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 17 weeks of 2024 was 7,909,925 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 2.2% compared to last year.

Week Ending April 27, 2024

For the week ending April 27, 2024 (Week 17), total U.S. weekly rail traffic was up 0.7% compared with the same week last year; carloads were down 6.4% and intermodal was up 7.5%.

Canadian and Mexican railroads saw a decrease in carloads, down 3.6% and 0.8%, respectively. Canadian railroads saw a 5.2% increase in intermodal while Mexican railroads reported a 1.1% decrease.

In Week 17 (ending April 27, 2024), U.S. Class I railroads hauled 214,414 carloads and 261,888 containers and trailers.

According to AAR, seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 1,552 carloads, to 17,067; chemicals, up 1,227 carloads, to 33,800; and nonmetallic minerals, up 953 carloads, to 34,184. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 were coal, down 18,156 carloads, to 45,832; metallic ores and metals, down 1,557 carloads, to 20,117; and forest products, down 80 carloads, to 8,341.

For the first 17 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 214,414 carloads, down 6.4% compared with the same week in 2023; and 261,888 containers and trailers, up 7.5% compared to 2023. U.S. weekly rail traffic was 476,302 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.7% compared with the same week last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending April 27, 2024, on 10 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 325,396 carloads, down 5.3% compared with the same week last year, and 350,692 intermodal units, up 6.6% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 676,088 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.5%. North American rail volume for the first 17 weeks of 2024 was 11,142,754 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.0% compared with 2023.

Canadian railroads reported 93,258 carloads for the week, down 3.6%, and 75,832 intermodal units, up 5.2% compared with the same week in 2023. For the first 17 weeks of 2024, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 2,725,737 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.3%.

Mexican railroads reported 17,724 carloads for the week, down 0.8% compared with the same week last year, and 12,972 intermodal units, down 1.1%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 17 weeks of 2024 was 507,092 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 8.4% from the same point last year.