U.S. railroads log carload traffic surge in Week 33

U.S. carload volume rose 2.9% to 237,404 units in the week ending Aug. 20 compared with the same week in 2021, according to Association of American Railroads data.

The railroads' intermodal volume fell 2.4% to 264,144 containers and trailers during the week compared with a year ago. Carload and intermodal volumes combined, U.S. railroads logged 501,548 carloads and intermodal units, a 0.1% increase.

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks every week posted increases. They included coal, up 4,321 carloads to 68,280; grain, up 2,825 carloads to 20,974; and farm products excluding grain, and food, up 2,128 carloads to 17,031.

Commodity groups that posted decreases included miscellaneous, down 1,951 carloads to 8,600; metallic ores and metals, down 1,248 carloads to 22,270; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 627 carloads to 9,681.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 75,585 carloads for the week, up 1.2%, and 74,484 intermodal units, up 1%. Mexican railroads registered 21,400 carloads, down 1.1%,  and 15,960 intermodal units, down 2.5%.

For the first 33 weeks of 2022 compared with 2021:

• U.S. railroads reported 16,314,301 carloads and intermodal units, down 3%;

• Canadian railroads logged 4,747,008 carloads, containers and trailers, down 3.2%; and

• Mexican railroads posted 1,235,420 carloads, containers and trailers, up 1.1%.