Carloads, Intermodal Volume Down for Week 45
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
(Photograph Courtesy of CP via Twitter)
U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Nov. 12, 2022 (Week 45), dipped 2.5% from the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Nov. 16.
Total U.S. weekly rail traffic came in at 490,350 carloads and intermodal units, comprising 235,474 carloads, down 0.2%, and 254,876 containers and trailers, down 4.5%, compared with 2021.
According to AAR, four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week last year. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 2,142 carloads, to 14,829; nonmetallic minerals, up 1,676 carloads, to 32,706; and farm products excluding grain, and food, up 742 carloads, to 17,242. Commodity groups that posted declines included grain, down 1,366 carloads, to 23,932; chemicals, down 1,360 carloads, to 32,168; and metallic ores and metals, down 915 carloads, to 19,346.
For the first 45 weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 10,450,126 carloads, up 0.2% from the prior-year period; and 11,835,682 intermodal units, down 4.7% from 2021. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 45 weeks of 2022 was 22,285,808 carloads and intermodal units, falling 2.5% from the same point last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 334,731 carloads, down 0.7%, and 335,949 intermodal units, down 4.9% from the same week last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 670,680 carloads and intermodal units, falling 2.8%. North American rail volume for the first 45 weeks of 2022 was 30,550,437 carloads and intermodal units, a 2% drop-off compared with 2021.
Canadian railroads reported 78,840 carloads for the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, up 0.8%, and 66,417 intermodal units, down 5.4% vs. the same week in 2021. For the first 45 weeks of 2022, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,567,421 carloads, containers and trailers, a 1.8% decrease from last year.
Mexican railroads reported 20,417 carloads for the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, dropping 11.1% from the same week last year, and 14,656 intermodal units, falling 9.6%. Their cumulative volume for the first 45 weeks of 2022 was 1,697,208 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, a 3.5% gain over 2021.
