Rail Freight Lurches Lazily, With Dips and Dives
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
Photo by Larry Gross, Gross Transportation Consulting (www.intermodalindepth.com)
Freight rail traffic dipped yet again in Week 18, compared to the prior-year period, as U.S. carloads fell just below 2% and intermodal dropped close to 5%, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported for the week ending May 7, 2022. Mexican and Canadian volumes fared far better.
For Week 18, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 504,927 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.5% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads were 231,737 carloads, down 1.9% compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 273,190 containers and trailers, down 4.9% compared to 2021.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2021. They were motor vehicles and parts, up 3,071 carloads, to 14,400; nonmetallic minerals, up 1,671 carloads, to 33,952; and coal, up 522 carloads, to 63,281. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2021 included metallic ores and metals, down 4,195 carloads, to 19,315; grain, down 2,813 carloads, to 22,402; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 1,177 carloads, to 8,940.
For the first 18 weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 4,138,700 carloads, up 1% from the same point last year; and 4,726,239 intermodal units, down 7% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 18 weeks of 2022 was 8,864,939 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.4% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending May 7, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 329,158 carloads, down 0.5% compared with the same week last year, and 367,244 intermodal units, down 3.1% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 696,402 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.9%. North American rail volume for the first 18 weeks of 2022 was 12,078,231 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9% compared with 2021.
Canadian railroads reported 75,688 carloads for the week, down 0.1%, and 78,457 intermodal units, up 1.3% compared with the same week in 2021. For the first 18 weeks of 2022, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 2,541,637 carloads, containers and trailers, down 6.9%.
Mexican railroads reported 21,733 carloads for the week, up 15.1% compared with the same week last year, and 15,597 intermodal units, up 9.3%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 18 weeks of 2022 was 671,655 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.7% from the same point last year.
