U.S. Traffic Downturn 12 Weeks and Counting

Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
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U.S. carloads and intermodal units for the week ending May 14, 2022, were each down about 5% from the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads’ figures released May 18. It’s the 12th consecutive week of declines from the prior-year period.

For the week ending May 14, 2022, Class I railroads moved 230,128 carloads (down 5.2% from the prior-year period) and 274,992 intermodal containers and trailers (down 5.5% from 2021). Total weekly traffic came in at 505,120 carloads and intermodal units, a loss of 5.4% over 2021.

(For figures from the week ending May 7, 2022, see “Rail Freight Lurches Lazily, With Dips and Dives”; and from the week ending April 30, 2022, see “U.S. Rail Volumes: ‘Mixed’ Bag Continues in April.”)

Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase for the week ending May 14, 2022, compared with the same week in 2021. They were nonmetallic minerals, up 1,570 carloads, to 33,344; farm products excluding grain, and food, up 993 carloads, to 16,257; and motor vehicles and parts, up 625 carloads, to 13,097. Commodity groups that posted decreases included coal, down 4,317 carloads, to 64,015; grain, down 3,561 carloads, to 21,910; and metallic ores and metals, down 2,289 carloads, to 21,426.

For the first 19 weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 4,368,828 carloads, up 0.6% from the same point last year; and 5,001,231 intermodal units, down 6.9% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 19 weeks of this year was 9,370,059 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.5% decline from 2021.

North American rail volume for the week ending May 14, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 325,431 carloads, down 4.2% compared with the same week last year, and 367,153 intermodal units, also down 4.2% compared with 2021. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 692,584 carloads and intermodal units, a 4.2% fall-off. North American rail volume for the first 19 weeks of this year came in at 12,770,815 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.9% decrease from 2021.

Canadian railroads, too, reported declines for the week. Their 74,072 carloads and 76,004 intermodal units, dropped 5.1% and 1.8%, respectively, compared with the same week in 2021. For the first 19 weeks of 2022, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 2,691,713 carloads, containers and trailers, down 6.7%.

Mexican railroads were the bright spot for the week. They reported 21,231 carloads, rising 12.6% compared with the same week in 2021, and 16,157 intermodal units, gaining 9.5%. Their cumulative volume for the first 19 weeks of 2022 was 709,043 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 3.1% from the same point last year.

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