Intermodal a drag on North American rail traffic totals in Week 2

U.S. railroads logged a combined 4.2% increase in carloads and a 7% decrease in intermodal volume for the week ending Jan. 14 compared with volumes in the same week in 2022, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Total U.S. traffic for the week was 486,000 carloads and intermodal units, a 1.7% decrease. The number of carloads climbed to 244,171 units; the number of containers and trailers fell to 241,829.

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks each week posted increases. They included grain, nonmetallic minerals, and motor vehicles and parts. Commodity groups that posted decreases were chemicals,  forest products and miscellaneous carloads.

Canadian railroads posted 84,028 carloads for the week, up 23%, and 62,980 intermodal units, down 2%. Mexican railroads logged 22,792 carloads, down 3.9%, and 15,045 intermodal units, down 6.6%.

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

• U.S. rail traffic totaled 902,489 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.5%;
• Canadian rail traffic totaled 273,546 carloads, containers and trailers, up 9.6%;
• Mexican rail traffic totaled 71,530 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.5%; and
• North American rail volume totaled 1,247,565 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.7%.