U.S. railroads post 4% traffic decrease in Week 20

U.S. railroads logged 506,976 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending May 21, a 4.1% decrease compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads data.

The railroads hauled 233,244 carloads, down 3.7%, and 273,732 containers and trailers, down 4.5%.
Four of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks every week posted increases compared with the same week in 2021. They included coal, up 966 carloads to 65,609; chemicals, up 784 carloads to 33,943; and forest products, up 171 carloads to 10,300.

Commodity groups that posted decreases included grain, down 3,515 carloads to 21,797; miscellaneous, down 3,023 carloads to 8,129; and metallic ores and metals, down 1,932 carloads to 21,664.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 75,281 carloads for the week, down 1.3%, and 76,189 intermodal units, up 0.9% compared with the same week in 2021. Mexican railroads posted 21,298 carloads, up 3.1%, and 15,761 intermodal units, up 4.4%.

For the first weeks of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021:
• U.S. railroads reported 9,877,035 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.6%;
• Canadian railroads reported 2,843,183 carloads, containers and trailers, down 6.4%; and
• Mexican railroads reported 746,102 carloads, containers and trailers, up 3.2%.