The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending August 12, 2023.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 472,498 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.2 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending August 12 were 224,412 carloads, down 3 percent compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 248,086 containers and trailers, down 5.3 percent compared to 2022.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They were motor vehicles and parts, up 1,534 carloads, to 14,945; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,419 carloads, to 9,952; and miscellaneous carloads, up 695 carloads, to 9,281. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 included grain, down 5,695 carloads, to 14,533; chemicals, down 1,869 carloads, to 29,957; and forest products, down 1,321 carloads, to 7,415.
For the first 32 weeks of 2023, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 7,166,006 carloads, up 0.2 percent from the same point last year; and 7,578,973 intermodal units, down 9.4 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 32 weeks of 2023 was 14,744,979 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 4.9 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending August 12, 2023, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 329,821 carloads, down 0.7 percent compared with the same week last year, and 329,158 intermodal units, down 7.5 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 658,979 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.2 percent. North American rail volume for the first 32 weeks of 2023 was 20,689,575 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.1 percent compared with 2022.
Canadian railroads reported 87,490 carloads for the week, up 1.9 percent, and 70,907 intermodal units, down 14.7 percent compared with the same week in 2022. For the first 32 weeks of 2023, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,043,304 carloads, containers and trailers, down 3 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 17,919 carloads for the week, up 19.8 percent compared with the same week last year, and 10,165 intermodal units, down 3.6 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 32 weeks of 2023 was 901,292 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 5 percent from the same point last year.
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