U.S. Rail Traffic Continues Downward Trend in Week 2
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Total U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Jan. 15, 2022 was 493,617 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.6% from the same point last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Jan. 19; it is the second consecutive week that traffic has dropped.
Total carloads for week two (ending Jan. 15, 2022) came in at 233,647, up 0.5% compared with the previous-year period, while intermodal volume was 259,970 containers and trailers, down 12.2%.
According to AAR, three of the 10 carload commodity groups in week two (ending Jan. 15, 2022) posted an increase from the same point last year. They were coal, up 10,296 carloads, to 67,867; nonmetallic minerals, up 1,779 carloads, to 27,367; and chemicals, up 67 carloads, to 34,002. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2021 included grain, down 3,196 carloads, to 24,344; motor vehicles and parts, down 2,948 carloads, to 12,382; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 2,653 carloads, to 9,782.
For the first two weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 443,667 carloads, dipping 5.1% compared with the previous-year period; and 490,711 intermodal units, decreasing 16.2% from 2021. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first two weeks of 2022 was 934,378 carloads and intermodal units, a drop-off of 11.3% from last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Jan. 15, 2022 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 323,685 carloads, down 5.3% vs. the same point last year, and 339,662 intermodal units, down 12.1%. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 663,347 carloads and intermodal units, an 8.9% fall-off. North American rail volume for the first two weeks of the year was 1,250,655 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 13.1% from 2021.
Canadian railroads reported 68,016 carloads for the week, sinking 21.3%, and 64,393 intermodal units, declining 13.4% compared with the same week in 2021. For the first two weeks of 2022, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 249,567 carloads, containers and trailers, down 20.2% from the same period last year.
Mexican railroads reported 22,022 carloads for the week, dipping 3.4% from same week in 2021, and 15,299 intermodal units, down 4.4%. Their cumulative volume for the first two weeks of 2022 was 66,710 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 8.4% from 2021.
