Rail Traffic for week ending: January 14, 2023

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending January 14, 2023.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 486,000 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.7 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending January 14 were 244,171 carloads, up 4.2 percent compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 241,829 containers and trailers, down 7 percent compared to 2022.

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included grain, up 3,483 carloads, to 28,008; nonmetallic minerals, up 3,033 carloads, to 30,380; and motor vehicles and parts, up 2,176 carloads, to 14,562. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 were chemicals, down 2,226 carloads, to 31,793; forest products, down 715 carloads, to 9,244; and miscellaneous carloads, down 117 carloads, to 9,580.

For the first two weeks of 2023, U.S. railroads reported a cumulative volume of 457,133 carloads, up 2.9 percent from the same point last year; and 445,356 intermodal units, down 9.2 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first two weeks of 2023 was 902,489 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.5 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending January 14, 2023, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 350,991 carloads, up 7.5 percent compared with the same week last year, and 319,854 intermodal units, down 6 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 670,845 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.6 percent. North American rail volume for the first two weeks of 2023 was 1,247,565 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.7 percent compared with 2022.

Canadian railroads reported 84,028 carloads for the week, up 23 percent, and 62,980 intermodal units, down 2 percent compared with the same week in 2022. For the first two weeks of 2023, Canadian railroads reported a cumulative rail traffic volume of 273,546 carloads, containers, and trailers, up 9.6 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 22,792 carloads for the week, down 3.9 percent compared with the same week last year, and 15,045 intermodal units, down 6.6 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first two weeks of 2023 was 71,530 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 0.5 percent from the same point last year.