U.S. rail traffic for the week ending December 9, 2023
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending December 9, 2023.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 499,094 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.7 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending December 9 were 229,424 carloads, down 2.5 percent compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 269,670 containers and trailers, up 5.5 percent compared to 2022.
Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 2,430 carloads, to 17,486; chemicals, up 1,850 carloads, to 30,948; and metallic ores and metals, up 1,189 carloads, to 20,622. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 included coal, down 5,641 carloads, to 66,911; nonmetallic minerals, down 3,165 carloads, to 28,980; and grain, down 1,834 carloads, to 20,701.
For the first 49 weeks of 2023, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 11,054,418 carloads, up 0.1 percent from the same point last year; and 11,954,641 intermodal units, down 5.8 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 49 weeks of 2023 was 23,009,059 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.0 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending December 9, 2023, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 338,908 carloads, down 2.4 percent compared with the same week last year, and 352,675 intermodal units, up 3.8 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 691,583 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.6 percent. North American rail volume for the first 49 weeks of 2023 was 32,202,281 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.8 percent compared with 2022.
Canadian railroads reported 93,684 carloads for the week, up 1.0 percent, and 70,668 intermodal units, down 1.3 percent compared with the same week in 2022. For the first 49 weeks of 2023, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 7,833,834 carloads, containers and trailers, down 3.1 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 15,800 carloads for the week, down 18.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 12,337 intermodal units, down 2.4 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 49 weeks of 2023 was 1,359,388 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.6 percent from the same point last year.
To view the weekly traffic charts, click here.
