US rail carloads up, intermodal units down in Week 15

U.S. railroads reported an uptick in carload traffic for the week ending April 15, but overall volumes continued to decline compared with the same period last year, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Carload volume for the week rose 5.8% to 234,066 units, while intermodal volume plummeted 12.8% to 234,131 containers and trailers. In total, the railroads logged 468,197 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.4%.

Eight of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks weekly posted increases. They included nonmetallic minerals, up 11.4%; motor vehicles and parts, up 19.3%; and metallic ores and metals, up 10.6%.

The two groups that posted decreases were miscellaneous carloads, down 7.1%, and forest products, down 2.8%.

Also during the week, Canadian railroads reported 82,319 carloads, a 9% increase, and 60,931 intermodal units, a 14.8% decrease. Mexican railroads reported 23,548 carloads, a 1.7% decrease, and 16,072 containers and trailers, a 10.1% increase.

For the first 15 weeks of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022:

• U.S. railroads reported 6,936,588 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.7%;

• Canadian railroads posted 2,097,986 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.7%; and

• Mexican railroads logged 566,804 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.4%.