Rail Traffic for the Week Ending April 9, 2022

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 508,343 carloads and intermodal units, down 1 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending April 9 were 236,459 carloads, up 1.4 percent compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 271,884 containers and trailers, down 3.1 percent compared to 2021.

Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2021. They included coal, up 3,519 carloads, to 65,725; motor vehicles and parts, up 1,320 carloads, to 13,352; and chemicals, up 1,185 carloads, to 35,152. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2021 included petroleum and petroleum products, down 2,107 carloads, to 9,319; metallic ores and metals, down 1,753 carloads, to 20,711; and miscellaneous carloads, down 551 carloads, to 9,808.

For the first 14 weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 3,223,599 carloads, up 2.5 percent from the same point last year; and 3,641,782 intermodal units, down 6.6 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 14 weeks of 2022 was 6,865,381 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.5 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending April 9, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 337,598 carloads, up 0.9 percent compared with the same week last year, and 363,293 intermodal units, down 2.6 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 700,891 carloads and intermodal units, down 1 percent. North American rail volume for the first 14 weeks of 2022 was 9,314,334 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.7 percent compared with 2021.

Canadian railroads reported 78,850 carloads for the week, down 0.9 percent, and 75,535 intermodal units, up 0.2 percent compared with the same week in 2021. For the first 14 weeks of 2022, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 1,936,407 carloads, containers and trailers, down 8.8 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 22,289 carloads for the week, up 1.8 percent compared with the same week last year, and 15,874 intermodal units, down 7.2 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 14 weeks of 2022 was 512,546 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.2 percent from the same point last year.