U.S. freight-rail traffic down slightly in January

U.S. freight-rail volumes totaled 2,231,182 carloads, containers and trailers in January, down 0.7% from volumes in January 2023, according to the Association of American Railroads.

Last month, U.S. railroads originated 1,025,168 carloads, down 7.2%, and 1,206,014 containers and trailers, up 5.5%.

Six of the 20 carload commodity categories that AAR tracks monthly posted carload gains in January compared to the same month a year ago. They included chemicals, up 2.9%; petroleum and petroleum products, 4.5%; and primary metal products, up 3.6%. Carload commodity groups that posted decreases last month included coal, down 12.3%; crushed stone, sand and gravel, down 19.5%; and grain, down 12.8%.

"In January, severe winter weather significantly disrupted railroad and rail customer operations in much of the country," said AAR economist Dan Keen in a press release. "Moreover, uncertainty remains in the economy, especially in sectors that are important to railroads, like manufacturing."

Because of those factors, January isn’t "necessarily a harbinger of what’s to come for rail traffic in the months ahead," Keen added.