AAR Reports Rail Traffic for the Week Ending May 6, 2023

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending May 6, 2023.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 471,859 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.6 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending May 6 were 231,718 carloads, down 0.04 percent compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 240,141 containers and trailers, down 12.1 percent compared to 2022.

Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included metallic ores and metals, up 1,385 carloads, to 20,697; nonmetallic minerals, up 1,359 carloads, to 35,326; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,192 carloads, to 10,133. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 included miscellaneous carloads, down 2,804 carloads, to 6,788; chemicals, down 1,179 carloads, to 33,084; and grain, down 734 carloads, to 21,700.

For the first 18 weeks of 2023, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 4,161,847 carloads, up 0.6 percent from the same point last year; and 4,209,017 intermodal units, down 10.9 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 18 weeks of 2023 was 8,370,864 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 5.6 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending May 6, 2023, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 330,351 carloads, down 0.1 percent compared with the same week last year, and 320,875 intermodal units, down 12.6 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 651,226 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.7 percent. North American rail volume for the first 18 weeks of 2023 was 11,601,657 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.0 percent compared with 2022.

Canadian railroads reported 76,585 carloads for the week, up 1.0 percent, and 65,947 intermodal units, down 15.6 percent compared with the same week in 2022. For the first 18 weeks of 2023, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 2,535,230 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.3 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 22,048 carloads for the week, down 4.4 percent compared with the same week last year, and 14,787 intermodal units, down 6.8 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 18 weeks of 2023 was 695,563 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 3.3 percent from the same point last year.