U.S. railroads logged another traffic decrease in Week 11

U.S. railroads reported volumes fell 2.7% to 499,362 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending March 19 compared with the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Intermodal traffic was the culprit behind the decline: Volume dropped 5.7% to  266,592 containers and trailers. Carload volume climbed slightly — 1.1% — to 232,770 units.

Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted increases during the week, including coal, up 4,182 carloads to 63,929; chemicals, up 2,656 carloads to 34,178; and nonmetallic minerals, up 1,984 carloads to 31,151.

Commodity groups that posted decreases for the week included grain, down 4,014 carloads to 23,317; petroleum and petroleum products, down 2,457 carloads to 9,181; and motor vehicles and parts, down 958 carloads to 13,953.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads posted decreases in both traffic groups, with carloads down 9.5% to 73,635 units and intermodal down 10.7% to 65,486 units. However, Mexican railroads reported that carloads climbed 16.2% to 22,435 units and intermodal traffic jumped 13.1% to 16,088 units.

For the first 11 weeks of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021:
• U.S. railroads reported 5,350,027 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.6%;
• Canadian railroads reported 1,487,674 carloads, containers and trailers, down 10.2%; and
• Mexican railroads reported 411,640 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 3.4%.