U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes are mixed, for week ending March 12, reports AAR

United States rail carload and intermodal volumes, for the week ending March 12, were mixed, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Rail carloads—at 232,338—eked out a 0.9% annual gain, trailing the week ending March 5, at 238,870, and topping the week ending February 26, at 223,330.

AAR said that four of the 10 carload commodity groups it tracks saw annual gains, including: 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.

Intermodal containers and trailers—at 263,746—saw a 9.1% annual decline, trailing the week ending March 5, at 266,307, and topping the week ending February 26, at 261,860.

Through the first 10 weeks of 2022, AAR reported that U.S. railroads—at 2,288,852 carloads—are up 3.2% annually. And intermodal units—at 2,561,813 intermodal units—were down 7.2%, for the same period.

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.