Rail traffic for the week ending December 4, 2021

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending December 4, 2021.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 527,406 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.8 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending December 4 were 255,044 carloads, up 3.9 percent compared with the same week in 2020, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 272,362 containers and trailers, down 8.4 percent compared to 2020.

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2020. They included nonmetallic minerals, up 4,198 carloads, to 32,916; coal, up 3,284 carloads, to 68,736; and metallic ores and metals, up 2,621 carloads, to 22,526. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2020 were motor vehicles and parts, down 1,696 carloads, to 14,751; petroleum and petroleum products, down 1,018 carloads, to 10,714; and miscellaneous carloads, down 903 carloads, to 10,428.

For the first 48 weeks of 2021, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 11,129,483 carloads, up 6.9 percent from the same point last year; and 13,190,024 intermodal units, up 6 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 48 weeks of 2021 was 24,319,507 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 6.4 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending December 4, 2021, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 346,727 carloads, down 0.6 percent compared with the same week last year, and 344,311 intermodal units, down 10.8 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 691,038 carloads and intermodal units, down 6 percent. North American rail volume for the first 48 weeks of 2021 was 33,112,479 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.3 percent compared with 2020.

Canadian railroads reported 70,735 carloads for the week, down 16 percent, and 56,913 intermodal units, down 24.3 percent compared with the same week in 2020. For the first 48 weeks of 2021, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 7,044,531 carloads, containers and trailers, up 1.6 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 20,948 carloads for the week, up 8.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 15,036 intermodal units, up 9.1 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 48 weeks of 2021 was 1,748,441 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 4.3 percent from the same point last year.