This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
11/2/2023
U.S. railroads logged 1,997,322 carloads and intermodal units in October, a 1% increase compared with October 2022 traffic levels, according to Association of American Railroads data.
"Combined carload and intermodal volumes on U.S. railroads in October were the most for any month since June 2021, a span of 28 months," said AAR Senior Vice President John Gray in a press release. "Part of that relates to intermodal seasonality and concerns over Panama Canal capacity, but part of it also reflects an economy that remains resilient as reflected by recent strong GDP data."
In October, nine of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR each month posted carload gains compared with October 2022. These included: petroleum & petroleum products, up 14.2%; chemicals, up 3.2%; and motor vehicles and parts, up 5.4%.
Commodities that posted declines during the month included coal, -4.5%; grain, -4.7%; and crushed stone, sand and gravel, -0.9%.
U.S. carload traffic for the first 10 months of 2023 totaled 9,696,421 carloads, up 0.2%, or 21,802 carloads, from the same period last year; and 10,405,065 intermodal units, down 7.2%, or 808,532 containers and trailers, from last year.