Rail Traffic for the week ending September 24, 2022

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending September 24, 2022.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 489,111 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.4 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending September 24 were 231,258 carloads, down 3.2 percent compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 257,853 containers and trailers, down 5.4 percent compared to 2021.

Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2021. They were motor vehicles and parts, up 1,610 carloads, to 13,165; coal, up 819 carloads, to 70,697; and nonmetallic minerals, up 372 carloads, to 34,436. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2021 included metallic ores and metals, down 3,405 carloads, to 20,708; grain, down 2,276 carloads, to 19,540; and chemicals, down 1,758 carloads, to 30,261.

For the first 38 weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 8,784,882 carloads, up 0.2 percent from the same point last year; and 9,998,106 intermodal units, down 5.1 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 38 weeks of 2022 was 18,782,988 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.7 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending September 24, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 333,265 carloads, down 1.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 342,019 intermodal units, down 4.3 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 675,284 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.8 percent. North American rail volume for the first 38 weeks of 2022 was 25,700,318 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.4 percent compared with 2021.

Canadian railroads reported 79,152 carloads for the week, down 1.2 percent, and 68,448 intermodal units, down 3.6 percent compared with the same week in 2021. For the first 38 weeks of 2022, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,499,480 carloads, containers and trailers, down 2.4 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 22,855 carloads for the week, up 22.4 percent compared with the same week last year, and 15,718 intermodal units, up 15.3 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 38 weeks of 2022 was 1,417,850 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.5 percent from the same point last year.