US rail volumes fell 5% in Week 27

U.S. railroads logged a 5.1% decrease in traffic to 407,843 carloads, containers and trailers for the week ending July 8 compared with volumes in the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Carloads totaled 197,086, down 2.3%, while intermodal units totaled 210,757, down 7.6%.

Five of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks weekly posted increases. They included metallic ores and metals, up 7.4%; nonmetallic minerals, up 2.6%; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 5.3%.

Commodities that posted decreases included grain, down 22.6%; coal, -2.9%; and forest products, -16.1%.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 83,374 carloads for the week, down 2.7%, and 38,849 intermodal units, down 46.2%. Mexican railroads logged 15,823 carloads, down 7.5%, and 10,463 intermodal units, down 15.6%.

For the first 27 weeks of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022:

• U.S. railroads reported 12,365,173 carloads, containers and trailers, a 5.3% decrease;
• Canadian railroads posted 4,271,926 carloads, containers and trailers, down 2.2%; and
• Mexican railroads logged 747,632 carloads, containers and trailers, up 4.1%.