For the week ending Nov. 26, 2022 (Week 47), total U.S. rail traffic was down 4.1% compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) reported on Nov. 30. Traffic was down 21% compared with the same week in pre-pandemic 2019, according to Susquehanna Financial Group (SFG) Analyst Bascome Majors.
U.S. rail traffic for the week ending July 23, 2022 (Week 29) was 498,901 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.8% from the same week last year. Total carloads were 232,565, up 1.1%, while U.S. intermodal volume of 266,336 containers and trailers dipped 2.5% compared with the prior-year period, the Association of American Railroads reported on July 27.
For the week ending June 25, 2022 (Week 25), U.S. rail traffic was 493,374 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.4% from the prior-year period, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported June 29. Class I railroads hauled 229,857 carloads, down 3.1%, and 263,517 containers and trailers, down 5.5%. Year-to-date, carloads were virtually flat (down 0.1%) and intermodal volume fell 3.5% compared with the same point last year.
U.S. freight rail traffic dipped again in Week 23, compared with the prior-year period, as carloads were down 2.8% and intermodal fell 4.4%, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported for the week ending June 11, 2022.
2022 was going to be the recovery year for freight, rail freight included. As the first quarter ended, I’m not so sure anymore. A group of statistics keep whispering in my ear.
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.
For the week ending Dec. 25, 2021, U.S. rail traffic was up 3.7% over the same week last year; total carloads came in 8.7% higher while intermodal volume continued its downward trend, falling 0.4%, the Association of American Railroads reported on Dec. 29.
U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Dec. 11, 2021 continued to suffer, as a near-11% fall-off in intermodal volume erased a small increase in carloads, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Dec. 15.
For the week ending Dec. 4, 2021, U.S. rail traffic fell 2.8% from the same point last year, with an intermodal volume drop cutting a carload gain, the Association of American Railroads reported on Dec. 8.
The Association of American Railroads now has 44 weeks of rail traffic data for 2021 (ending Nov. 6). Total carload and intermodal traffic grew 6.5% in North America—rising 7.5% in the U.S., 3.7% in Canada, and 4.0% in Mexico from the same point last year.
