Carloads, Intermodal Volume Down for Week 7
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
(Norfolk Southern Photograph)
U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Feb. 18, 2023 (Week 7) dipped 6.5% from the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Feb. 22.
U.S. Class I railroads hauled a total of 466,932 carloads and intermodal units, comprising 229,227 carloads, down 3.9%, and 237,705 containers and trailers, down 8.8%.
According to AAR, four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase for the week ending Feb. 18, 2023, compared with the same week in 2022. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 1,396 carloads, to 13,664; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,378 carloads, to 10,630; and farm products excluding grain, and food, up 940 carloads, to 17,132. Commodity groups that posted declines included coal, down 6,178 carloads, to 66,566; grain, down 3,118 carloads, to 21,864; and miscellaneous carloads, down 1,419 carloads, to 7,843.
For the first seven weeks of 2023, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 1,603,005 carloads, up 0.3% from the prior-year period; and 1,631,109 intermodal units, down 7.8% from the same point last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first seven weeks of 2023 came in at 3,234,114 carloads and intermodal units, a 4.0% drop-off from 2022.
North American rail volume for the week ending Feb. 18, 2023, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 335,772 carloads, up 0.3% from the same week in 2022, and 313,084 intermodal units, down 8.3% from last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 648,856 carloads and intermodal units, a 4.0% decrease. North American rail volume for the first seven weeks of 2023 was 4,461,274 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.2% drop-off from last year.
Canadian railroads reported 82,527 carloads for the week ending Feb. 18, 2023, rising 11.1%, and 59,995 intermodal units, decreasing 6.9% compared with the same week last year. For the first seven weeks of 2023, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 976,106 carloads, containers and trailers, a 4.7% gain.
For the week ending Feb. 18, 2023, Mexican railroads reported 24,018 carloads, an increase of 10.2% from the same week last year, and 15,384 intermodal units, a decrease of 5.8%. Their cumulative volume for the first seven weeks of 2023 was 251,054 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, dipping 3.2% from 2022.
