U.S. freight-rail traffic fell nearly 2 percent in Week 18

U.S. railroads logged 504,927 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending May 7, a 3.5% decrease compared with freight-rail traffic hauled during the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Total carloads for the week dipped 1.9% to 231,737 units, while intermodal volume fell 4.9% to 273,190 containers and trailers.

Three of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks every week posted increases. They were motor vehicles and parts, up 3,071 carloads to 14,400; nonmetallic minerals, up 1,671 carloads to 33,952; and coal, up 522 carloads to 63,281.

Commodity groups that posted decreases included metallic ores and metals, down 4,195 carloads to 19,315; grain, down 2,813 carloads to 22,402; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 1,177 carloads to 8,940.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads posted 75,688 carloads for the week, down 0.1%, and 78,457 intermodal units, up 1.3%. Mexican railroads logged 21,733 carloads for the week, up 15.1%, and 15,597 intermodal units, up 9.3%.

For the first 18 weeks of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021:
• U.S. railroads reported 8,864,939 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.4%;
• Canadian railroads reported 2,541,637 carloads, containers and trailers, down 6.9%; and
• Mexican railroads reported 671,655 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.7%.