U.S., Canadian freight-rail volume fell in early March

U.S. freight-rail traffic during the first week of March dipped 1.9% to 505,177 carloads and intermodal units compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week ending March 5 climbed 2.8% to 238,870 units, while intermodal volume fell 5.8% to 266,307 containers and trailers.

Four of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR follows weekly posted increases compared with the same week in 2021. They included chemicals, up 5,267 carloads to 34,854; nonmetallic minerals, up 4,746 carloads to 32,504; and coal, up 2,675 carloads to 68,304.

Commodity groups that posted decreases during the week included motor vehicles and parts, down 2,641 carloads to 13,261; grain, down 1,572 carloads to 24,880; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 1,309 carloads to 9,195.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads also reported decreases in traffic during March's first week. Carloads fell 8.9% to 74,912 units, while intermodal volume plummeted 12.8% to 66,261 containers and trailers.

Mexican railroads, however, logged increases for the week. Carloads rose 13.9% to 21,894 units and intermodal increased 6.4% to 16,253 units.

For the first nine weeks of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021:
• U.S. railroads reported 4,354,531 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.3%;
• Canadian railroads reported 1,205,190 carloads, containers and trailers, down 10.4%; and
• Mexican railroads reported 334,928 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 1.5%.