WASHINGTON – For the week ended May 7, U.S. rail traffic registered 504,927 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.5% decline over the same period in 2021.
Figures from the Association of American Railroads show the total number of carloads at 231,737, down 1.9% over the same week in 2021, while intermodal volume was 273,190 containers and trailers, a 4.9% drop over the same period.
AAR reported that three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase for the reporting period: motor vehicles and parts, up 3,071 carloads, to 14,400; nonmetallic minerals, up 1,671 carloads, to 33,952; and coal, up 522 carloads, to 63,281. Categories of shipments that showed declines were metallic ores and metals, down 4,195 carloads, to 19,315; grain, down 2,813 carloads, to 22,402; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 1,177 carloads, to 8,940.
Year-to-date statistics indicate that U.S. railroads hauled 4,138,700 carloads, up 1% from the same point last year; and 4,726,239 intermodal units, down 7% from last year. Combined, the figure for the first 18 weeks of 2022 showed a total of 8,864,939 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.4% over the same reporting period in 2021.
For a North American perspective, AAR reported that rail volume for the week ending May 7 on 12 U.S., Canadian, and Mexican carriers totaled 329,158 carloads, down 0.5% compared with the same week last year, and 367,244 intermodal units, down 3.1%. The combined weekly rail traffic was 696,402 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.9%. North American rail volume for the first 18 weeks of 2022 registered 12,078,231 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9% compared with 2021.
Canadian railroads carried 75,688 carloads for the week, down 0.1%, and 78,457 intermodal units, a 1.3% increase. For the first 18 weeks of 2022, Canadian railroads moved 2,541,637 carloads, containers and trailers, down 6.9%.
In Mexico, the trend for the week was upward: Railroads reported 21,733 carloads, up 15.1, and 15,597 intermodal units, up 9.3%. Year-to-date volume on Mexican railroads was 671,655 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.7%.
