AAR reports latest North American rail traffic update

For this week, total US weekly rail traffic was 491 794 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.2% compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending 19 November were 235 887 carloads, down 0.6% compared with the same week in 2021, while US weekly intermodal volume was 255 907 containers and trailers, down 5.6% compared to 2021.

Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2021. They included grain, up 2039 carloads, to 26 624; coal, up 1766 carloads, to 66 485; and non-metallic minerals, up 463 carloads, to 31 558. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2021 included chemicals, down 3081 carloads, to 31 074; motor vehicles and parts, down 1030 carloads, to 13 631; and forest products, down 864 carloads, to 9033.

For the first 46 weeks of 2022, US railroads reported cumulative volume of 10 686 013 carloads, up 0.2% from the same point last year; and 12 091 589 intermodal units, down 4.8% from last year. Total combined US traffic for the first 46 weeks of 2022 was 22 777 602 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.5% compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending 19 November 2022, on 12 reporting US, Canadian, and Mexican railroads totalled 341 621 carloads, up 3.2% compared with the same week last year, and 338 616 intermodal units, down 0.2% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 680 237 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.5%. North American rail volume for the first 46 weeks of 2022 was 31 230 674 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.9% compared with 2021.

Canadian railroads reported 82 709 carloads for the week, up 12.8%, and 65 975 intermodal units, up 24.8% compared with the same week in 2021. For the first 46 weeks of 2022, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6 716 105 carloads, containers and trailers, down 1.4%.

Mexican railroads reported 23 025 carloads for the week, up 11.7% compared with the same week last year, and 16 734 intermodal units, up 9.4%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 46 weeks of 2022 was 1 736 967 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 3.7% from the same point last year.