Rail traffic for the week ending November 20, 2021

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending November 20, 2021.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 508,309 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.9 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending November 20 were 237,244 carloads, up 1.6 percent compared with the same week in 2020, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 271,065 containers and trailers, down 10 percent compared to 2020.

Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2020. They included metallic ores and metals, up 1,838 carloads, to 21,524; coal, up 1,780 carloads, to 64,719; and chemicals, up 1,437 carloads, to 34,174. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2020 included miscellaneous carloads, down 1,009 carloads, to 9,064; motor vehicles and parts, down 887 carloads, to 14,690; and grain, down 710 carloads, to 24,494.

For the first 46 weeks of 2021, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 10,665,348 carloads, up 7.1 percent from the same point last year; and 12,695,960 intermodal units, up 6.7 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 46 weeks of 2021 was 23,361,308 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 6.9 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending November 20, 2021, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 329,398 carloads, down 2.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 338,380 intermodal units, down 14.2 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 667,778 carloads and intermodal units, down 8.7 percent. North American rail volume for the first 46 weeks of 2021 was 31,833,619 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.8 percent compared with 2020.

Canadian railroads reported 73,037 carloads for the week, down 12 percent, and 52,947 intermodal units, down 32.7 percent compared with the same week in 2020. For the first 46 weeks of 2021, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,804,271 carloads, containers and trailers, up 2.8 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 19,117 carloads for the week, down 7.2 percent compared with the same week last year, and 14,368 intermodal units, down 0.6 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 46 weeks of 2021 was 1,668,040 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 3.8 percent from the same point last year.