The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 12, 2022.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 496,134 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.7 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending March 12 were 232,388 carloads, up 0.9 percent compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 263,746 containers and trailers, down 9.1 percent compared to 2021.
Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2021. They included chemicals, up 5,958 carloads, to 35,933; nonmetallic minerals, up 1,339 carloads, to 30,466; and coal, up 485 carloads, to 64,589. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2021 included grain, down 2,726 carloads, to 21,213; petroleum and petroleum products, down 1,374 carloads, to 10,005; and motor vehicles and parts, down 900 carloads, to 13,936.
For the first 10 weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 2,288,852 carloads, up 3.2 percent from the same point last year; and 2,561,813 intermodal units, down 7.2 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 10 weeks of 2022 was 4,850,665 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.6 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending March 12, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 328,598 carloads, down 1.2 percent compared with the same week last year, and 349,088 intermodal units, down 8.1 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 677,686 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.9 percent. North American rail volume for the first 10 weeks of 2022 was 6,572,335 carloads and intermodal units, down 4 percent compared with 2021.
Canadian railroads reported 74,498 carloads for the week, down 10 percent, and 68,865 intermodal units, down 7.6 percent compared with the same week in 2021. For the first 10 weeks of 2022, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 1,348,553 carloads, containers and trailers, down 10.2 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 21,712 carloads for the week, up 12.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 16,477 intermodal units, up 7.7 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 10 weeks of 2022 was 373,117 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.3 percent from the same point last year.
