AAR: For April, Intermodal ‘Continues to Suffer’

U.S. rail traffic in April 2023 dropped from the same month last year—down 6.0% or 120,898 carloads and intermodal units, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported May 3. This follows March’s 7.6% drop from the prior-year period.

According to AAR, U.S. Class I railroads in April 2023 hauled 1,881,950 carloads and intermodal units, comprising 936,637 carloads (up 1.8%) and 945,313 containers and trailers (down 12.7%).

“Intermodal continues to suffer because of significantly lower trade activity at ports, weaker consumer demand, and continued excess retail inventories from the pandemic era,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “These headwinds won’t last forever. When they dissipate, railroads will be prepared to meet their customers’ needs safely and reliably.”

In April 2023, seven of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR each month saw carload gains compared with April 2022. These included: coal, up 10,098 carloads or 4.1%; crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 7,901 carloads or 9.7%; and motor vehicles and parts, up 6,483 carloads or 12.3%. Commodities that saw declines in April 2023 from April 2022 included: chemicals, down 4,677 carloads or 3.4%; grain, down 3,294 carloads or 3.7%; and nonmetallic minerals, down 2,263 carloads or 14.9%.

In comparison, April 2022 U.S. rail volumes continued to be a “mixed bag.” “U.S. rail traffic in April had something for everyone,” Gray reported on May 4, 2022. “Optimists can point to autos, chemicals and scrap, all of which had solid gains [over the same period last year]. Pessimists can point to grain, intermodal and petroleum products, which saw significant declines.”

Excluding coal, carloads were up 6,883 carloads, or 1.0%, in April 2023 from April 2022. Excluding coal and grain, carloads were up 10,177 carloads, or 1.7%.

Total U.S. carload traffic for the first four months of 2023 was 3,930,129 carloads, up 0.6%, or 23,161 carloads, from the same period last year; and 3,968,876 intermodal units, down 10.9%, or 484,228 containers and trailers, from last year.

Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 17 weeks of 2023 was 7,899,005 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 5.5% compared to last year.

Week Ending April 29, 2023

For the week ending April 29, 2023, U.S. Class I railroads hauled 481,960 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.9% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads came in at 239,318, up 1.4%, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 245,642 containers and trailers, down 10.3% compared to 2022.

Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 1,702 carloads, to 15,529; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,349 carloads, to 10,177; and nonmetallic minerals, up 1,171 carloads, to 33,863. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 included miscellaneous carloads, down 849 carloads, to 8,780; chemicals, down 670 carloads, to 33,864; and forest products, down 549 carloads, to 9,616.

North American rail volume for the week ending April 29, 2023, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 343,589 carloads, up 2.8% compared with the same week last year, and 326,666 intermodal units, down 11.4% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 670,255 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.6%. North American rail volume for the first 17 weeks of 2023 was 10,938,636 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9% compared with 2022.

Canadian railroads reported 83,719 carloads for the week, up 8.2%, and 65,041 intermodal units, down 16.2% compared with the same week in 2022. For the first 17 weeks of 2023, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 2,392,698 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.2%.

Mexican railroads reported 23,552 carloads for the week, down 1.2% compared with the same week last year, and 15,983 intermodal units, down 7.1%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 17 weeks of 2023 was 646,933 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.0% from the same point last year.