The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 18, 2023.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 453,500 carloads and intermodal units, down 9.4 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending March 18 were 227,454 carloads, down 2.7 percent compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 226,046 containers and trailers, down 15.2 percent compared to 2022.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They were coal, up 2,886 carloads, to 67,912; motor vehicles and parts, up 1,150 carloads, to 15,091; and metallic ores and metals, up 378 carloads, to 20,534. Commodity groups that posted a decrease compared with the same week in 2022 included grain, down 4,439 carloads, to 18,743; chemicals, down 1,993 carloads, to 32,175; and nonmetallic minerals, down 1,890 carloads, to 29,265.
For the first 11 weeks of 2023, U.S. railroads reported a cumulative volume of 2,523,553 carloads, down 0.3 percent from the same point last year; and 2,556,114 intermodal units, down 9.6 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 11 weeks of 2023 was 5,079,667 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 5.2 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending March 18, 2023, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 328,408 carloads, up 0.0 percent compared with the same week last year, and 300,200 intermodal units, down 13.5 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 628,608 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.9 percent. North American rail volume for the first 11 weeks of 2023 was 7,013,479 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.3 percent compared with 2022.
Canadian railroads reported 78,381 carloads for the week, up 6.7 percent, and 59,280 intermodal units, down 9.3 percent compared with the same week in 2022. For the first 11 weeks of 2023, Canadian railroads reported a cumulative rail traffic volume of 1,527,311 carloads, containers and trailers, up 2.7 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 22,573 carloads for the week, up 7.4 percent compared with the same week last year, and 14,874 intermodal units, down 0.1 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 11 weeks of 2023 was 406,501 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 0.6 percent from the same point last year.
To view the weekly rail traffic charts, click here.
