U.S. Rail Traffic Lags in January
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
January 2022 was the “highest volume month ever for rail carloads of chemicals, providing a strong base for future growth in a critical commodity,” AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray reported on Feb. 2.
“For most traffic categories, U.S. rail volumes this January were down compared to last year,” Association of American Railroads Senior Vice President John T. Gray reported on Feb. 2; total carloads for the month dipped 3% from 2021 and intermodal units dropped 14.6%, according to AAR figures.
Last January, however, “made for very difficult comparisons for a number of categories,” Gray pointed out in AAR’s Feb. 2 rail traffic report. “For example, January 2021 was the best January for grain since 1990, and was also, at the time, the highest volume month ever for intermodal. Conversely, and more optimistically, this year’s January was the highest volume month ever for rail carloads of chemicals, providing a strong base for future growth in a critical commodity.”
In January 2022, six of the 20 carload commodity categories that AAR tracks each month saw carload gains compared with January 2021. These included: coal, up 13,596 carloads or 5.6%; crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 4,384 carloads or 7.2%; and chemicals, up 1,099 carloads or 0.8%. Commodities that saw declines included: grain, down 15,396 carloads or 14%; motor vehicles and parts, down 11,559 carloads or 19.8%; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 9,509 carloads or 20.1%.
Combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations in January 2022 were 1,903,708, falling 9.5%, or 199,657 carloads and intermodal units, from January 2021. This was based on 902,265 carloads—down 3% or 27,861 carloads from the same month last year—and 1,001,443 containers and trailers—down 14.6%, or 171,796 units.
Excluding coal, carloads fell by 41,457, or 6%, in January 2022 from January 2021. Excluding coal and grain, carloads dropped by 26,061, or 4.5%.
Week Four (Ending Jan. 29, 2022)
Total U.S. weekly rail traffic for the week ending Jan. 29, 2022 was 491,868 carloads and intermodal units, a 5.6% fall-off from the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending Jan. 29, 2022 came in at 235,203, a 1.5% gain from the same point last year, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 256,665 containers and trailers, an 11.3% drop-off from 2021.
Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2021. They included coal, up 6,211 carloads, to 67,825; nonmetallic minerals, up 3,063 carloads, to 27,703; and chemicals, up 958 carloads, to 34,977. Commodity groups that posted decreases included motor vehicles and parts, down 2,540 carloads, to 12,904; grain, down 2,514 carloads, to 24,959; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 1,673 carloads, to 9,625.
North American rail volume for the week ending Jan. 29, 2022 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 330,400 carloads, down 1.5% compared with the same week last year, and 337,564 intermodal units, down 10.6% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 667,964 carloads and intermodal units, decreasing 6.3%. North American rail volume for the first four weeks of 2022 was 2,562,997 carloads and intermodal units, down 10.9% from the same point last year.
Canadian railroads reported 74,271 carloads for the week, a 9.5% decline, and 65,392 intermodal units, a 7.2% drop compared with the same week in 2021. For the first four weeks of 2022, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 520,104 carloads, containers and trailers, down 16.3%.
Mexican railroads reported 20,926 carloads for the week, dipping 2.9% from the prior-year period, and 15,507 intermodal units, falling 13.4%. Their cumulative volume for the first four weeks of the year was 139,185 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 8.6% from 2021.
