U.S. Rail Traffic Uptick Continues in Week 38
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
(Screen Grab Courtesy of TTX YouTube Video)
For the week ending Sept. 23, 2023 (Week 38), total U.S. rail traffic was 493,323 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.8% from the prior-year period, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Sept. 27. It is the second consecutive week of gains for carloads and intermodal units, following weeks of losses or virtually flat results for both.
Total carloads for the week ending Sept. 23, 2023, were 234,904, rising 4.7% compared with the same week last year, and U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 258,419 containers and trailers, increasing 1.2% compared with 2022.
The week ending Sept. 16, 2023 (Week 37), saw similar results. U.S. Class I railroads hauled a total of 489,790 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.8% compared with the same week in 2022. This comprises 232,723 carloads—up 0.2% from the year-earlier period—and 257,067 containers and trailers—up 3.3% compared with last year.
According to AAR, August 2023 “was the third straight month in which total year-over-year U.S. rail carloads have fallen.” Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 35 weeks of 2023 was 16,173,208 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 4.9% compared with last year.
Seven of the ten carload commodity groups posted an increase for the week ending Sept. 23, 2023, vs. the same week last year, AAR reported. They included metallic ores and metals, up 3,256 carloads, to 22,732; motor vehicles and parts, up 2,929 carloads, to 16,085; and chemicals, up 2,070 carloads, to 31,067. Commodity groups that posted declines were coal, down 1,860 carloads, to 68,846; grain, down 226 carloads, to 18,072; and forest products, down 73 carloads, to 8,490.
For the first 38 weeks of this year, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 8,538,842 carloads, up 0.2% from the same point last year; and 9,065,168 intermodal units, down 8.5% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 38 weeks of 2023 was 17,604,010 carloads and intermodal units, a 4.5% drop-off from last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Sept. 23, 2023, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 346,962 carloads, increasing 3.7% from the prior-year period, and 342,697 intermodal units, dipping 0.3% from last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 689,659 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.7%. North American rail volume for the first 38 weeks of the year came in at 24,663,751 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.9% decrease from 2022.
For the week ending Sept. 23, 2023, Canadian railroads reported 96,025 carloads, a 5.3% increase, and 72,918 intermodal units, a 4.6% decrease, from the same point last year. For the first 38 weeks of this year, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,006,685 carloads, containers and trailers, down 3.4%.
For the week ending Sept. 23, 2023, Mexican railroads reported 16,033 carloads, falling 15.2% from the same week last year, and 11,360 intermodal units, dropping 3.9%. Their cumulative volume for the first 38 weeks of this year was 1,053,056 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, a 2.8% gain from the same week in 2022.
