AAR: U.S. Intermodal Up, Carloads Down in Week 41
Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
For the week ending Oct. 14, 2023 (Week 41), total U.S. rail traffic was 492,781 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.5% from the prior-year period, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Oct. 18. It is the fifth consecutive week of gains for intermodal units while carloads took a dip.
Total carloads for the week ending Oct. 14, 2023, were 225,405 carloads, down 2.0% compared with the same week last year, and U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 267,376 containers and trailers, increasing 2.8% compared with 2022.
According to AAR, six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,774 carloads, to 10,583; motor vehicles and parts, up 955 carloads, to 15,712; and miscellaneous carloads, up 809 carloads, to 8,786. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 included coal, down 4,787 carloads, to 62,138; grain, down 2,049 carloads, to 22,176; and metallic ores and metals, down 1,705 carloads, to 18,137.
For the first 41 weeks of this year, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 9,234,003 carloads, up 0.3% from the same point last year; and 9,862,159 intermodal units, down 7.7% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 41 weeks of 2023 was 19,096,162 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 4.0% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Oct. 14, 2023, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 335,745 carloads, down 2.9% compared with the same week last year, and 347,146 intermodal units, down 1.4% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 682,891 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.1%. North American rail volume for the first 41 weeks of 2023 was 26,749,075 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.6% compared with 2022.
Canadian railroads reported 94,482 carloads for the week, down 2.4%, and 69,104 intermodal units, down 12.1% compared with the same week in 2022. For the first 41 weeks of 2023, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,507,594 carloads, containers and trailers, down 3.5%.
Mexican railroads reported 15,858 carloads for the week, down 15.7% compared with the same week last year, and 10,666 intermodal units, down 20.0%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 41 weeks of 2023 was 1,145,319 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.8% from the same point last year.
