Rail traffic for the week ending October 15, 2022

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending October 15, 2022.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 500,304 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.7 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending October 15 were 237,263 carloads, up 3.2 percent compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 263,041 containers and trailers, down 1.6 percent compared to 2021.

Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2021. They included coal, up 8,961 carloads, to 66,914; motor vehicles and parts, up 1,454 carloads, to 14,839; and nonmetallic minerals, up 1,240 carloads, to 33,404. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2021 included chemicals, down 1,440 carloads, to 31,288; miscellaneous carloads, down 1,420 carloads, to 8,161; and forest products, down 1,107 carloads, to 8,786.

For the first 41 weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 9,489,495 carloads, up 0.1 percent from the same point last year; and 10,784,078 intermodal units, down 5 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 41 weeks of 2022 was 20,273,573 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.6 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending October 15, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 344,407 carloads, up 3.9 percent compared with the same week last year, and 350,845 intermodal units, down 0 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 695,252 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.9 percent. North American rail volume for the first 41 weeks of 2022 was 27,787,375 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.1 percent compared with 2021.

Canadian railroads reported 84,165 carloads for the week, up 6.1 percent, and 70,908 intermodal units, up 6.2 percent compared with the same week in 2021. For the first 41 weeks of 2022, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,967,749 carloads, containers and trailers, down 1.9 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 22,979 carloads for the week, up 3.6 percent compared with the same week last year, and 16,896 intermodal units, down 0.3 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 41 weeks of 2022 was 1,546,053 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 4 percent from the same point last year.