Week 40: Carloads, Intermodal Drop
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
U.S. freight rail traffic dipped yet again in Week 40, compared with the prior-year period, as carloads fell just below 3% and intermodal dropped 2%, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported for the week ending Oct. 8, 2022. Mexican and Canadian volumes fared far better.
For Week 40, U.S. Class I railroads moved 494,413 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.4% from the same week in 2021, according to AAR. Total carloads came in at 232,930, down 2.8% from last year, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 261,483 containers and trailers, down 2%.
(Results for weeks 38 and 39 were similar. Read: “Intermodal Continues Downward Trend” and “Week 38: U.S. Rail Traffic Behind 2021 Levels.”)
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase for the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, compared with the same week in 2021. They were motor vehicles and parts, up 908 carloads, to 13,955; farm products excluding grain, and food, up 817 carloads, to 16,909; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 592 carloads, to 9,993. Commodity groups that posted declines included chemicals, down 2,750 carloads, to 30,187; miscellaneous carloads, down 1,496 carloads, to 9,425; and metallic ores and metals, down 1,395 carloads, to 20,995.
For the first 40 weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 9,252,232 carloads, flat with the year-ago period; and 10,521,037 intermodal units, dropping 5%. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 40 weeks of 2022 was 19,773,269 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.7% decrease from 2021.
North American rail volume for the week ending Oct. 8, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 336,086 carloads, down 0.5% compared with the same week last year, and 354,116 intermodal units, down 0.8%. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 690,202 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.6%. North American rail volume for the first 40 weeks of 2022 was 27,092,123 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.2% fall-off from 2021.
Canadian railroads reported 80,924 carloads for the week, rising 5%, and 74,678 intermodal units, increasing 1.9% from the same week in 2021. For the first 40 weeks of 2022, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,812,676 carloads, containers and trailers, decreasing 2.1%.
Mexican railroads reported 22,232 carloads for the week, gaining 5.7% over the same week last year, and 17,955 intermodal units, gaining 6.7%. Their cumulative volume for the first 40 weeks of 2022 was 1,506,178 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, increasing 4% from the same point in 2021.
