Week 5: U.S. rail volume slide continues

U.S. railroads hauled 449,586 carloads, containers and trailers in the week ending Feb. 4, a 1.9% decrease compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Carloads for the week totaled 216,700, down 0.9%, while containers and trailers totaled 232,886, down 2.9%.

Six of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR follows on a weekly basis logged increases. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 2,725 carloads to 13,155; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,578 carloads to 10,727; and nonmetallic minerals, up 1,445 carloads to 25,578.

Commodity groups that posted decreases during the week included coal, down 6,723 carloads to 58,224; grain, down 1,236 carloads to 22,244; and chemicals, down 1,182 carloads, to 32,743.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads posted 77,460 carloads for the week, up 11.4%, and 57,745 intermodal units, down 8.7%. Mexican railroads reported 20,395 carloads, down 5.6%, and 15,008 intermodal units, down 1.2%.

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

• U.S. railroads reported 2,293,210 carloads and intermodal units, down 3%;

• Canadian railroads reported 693,084 carloads, containers and trailers, up 6.2%; and

• Mexican railroads reported 184,944 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 0.1%.