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.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) now has 40 weeks of traffic data for 2021. Total traffic (carload and intermodal) rose 7.6% in North America—climbing 8.7% in the U.S., 4.7% in Canada, and 4.1% in Mexico from the same point last year.
For the week ending Sept. 18, 2021, U.S. Class I railroads hauled 234,790 carloads, up 3.5% from the same point last year, but the 270,832 intermodal containers and trailers they moved fell 8.3% from 2020, the Association of American Railroads reported on Sept. 22.
While U.S. carloads were up 4.1% in August 2021, the 3.3% fall-off in intermodal volume kept combined traffic virtually flat with the prior-year period, as railroads navigated “chassis and container shortages at ports; shortages of drayage truck drivers; port congestion; insufficient warehouse capacity at many locations; and now, weather problems in the Gulf,” AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray reported on Sept. 1.
For the week ending Aug. 21, 2021, total U.S. rail traffic came in at 501,273 carloads and intermodal units, falling 2.6% from the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Aug. 25.
Total U.S. weekly rail traffic for the week ending Aug. 7, 2021 was 509,607 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.4% from the same point last year, as intermodal losses offset carload gains, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Aug. 11.
While U.S. rail traffic in July 2021 was up from July 2020, the percentage increase was “significantly lower” than in other recent months, AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray reported on Aug. 4.