Week 31: Rail volumes fell in U.S., rose in Canada and Mexico

U.S. freight-rail traffic tumbled 2.6% to 496,526 carloads, containers and trailers in the week ending Aug. 6 compared with the same period in 2021, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Total carloads dipped 1.6% to 230,573 units, while total intermodal volume fell 3.4% to 265,953 containers and trailers.

Four of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks every week posted increases during the week. They included grain, up 1,809 carloads to 19,916; nonmetallic minerals, up 633 carloads to 34,409; and farm products excluding grain, and food, up 378 carloads to 15,618.

Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2021 included miscellaneous carloads, down 2,260 carloads to 7,901; chemicals, down 1,385 carloads to 32,287; and coal, down 1,076 carloads to 65,812.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads hauled 74,899 carloads for the week, up 3.2%, and 73,082 intermodal units, up 6.7% compared with the same week in 2021. Mexican railroads moved 22,161 carloads, up 4.8%, and 15,932 intermodal units, up 2.7%.

For the first 31 weeks of 2022 compared with traffic in the same period in 2021:

• U.S. railroads reported 15,309,978 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.2%;

• Canadian railroads reported 4,447,124 carloads, containers and trailers, down 3.5%; and

• Mexican railroads reported 1,160,412 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 1.3%.