AAR releases August rail traffic update

In August 2022, 11 of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR each month saw carload gains compared with August 2021. These included: coal, up 17 468 carloads or 5.2%; grain, up 12 594 carloads or 14.1%; and crushed stone, sand & gravel, up 7327 carloads or 7.1%. Commodities that saw declines in August 2022 from August 2021 included: primary metal products, down 6711 carloads or 14.%; all other carloads, down 4914 carloads or 15.9%; and petroleum & petroleum products, down 3410 carloads or 6.6%.

“Things can change quickly, but there are reasons to believe the economy is on track to stimulate continued improvements in rail volumes,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “To be sure, some traffic categories are doing better than others, just like some sectors of the economy are doing better than others. Through additional hiring and continued investments, railroads are preparing themselves for growth.”

Excluding coal, carloads were up 9572 carloads, or 1.2%, in August 2022 from August 2021. Excluding coal and grain, carloads were down 3022 carloads, or 0.4%.

Total US carload traffic for the first eight months of 2022 was 8 090 712 carloads, up 0.3%, or 20 430 carloads, from the same period last year; and 9 248 250 intermodal units, down 5.1%, or 501 232 containers and trailers, from last year. Total combined US traffic for the first 35 weeks of 2022 was 17 338 962 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.7% compared to last year.

Read the article online at: https://www.drybulkmagazine.com/dry-bulk/08092022/aar-releases-august-rail-traffic-update/