U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes are mixed in September, reports AAR

United States rail carload and intermodal volumes, for the month of September, were mixed, according to data released this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Rail carloads—at 1,167,682—were up 4.3%, or 47,858 carloads, annually. When excluding coal, carloads were up 6,904 carloads, or 0.8% annually. And when excluding coal and grain, carloads were up 24,216 carloads, or 3.5%.

And AAR said that 15 of the 20 carload commodity categories it tracks saw annual gains, including: coal, up 40,954 carloads or 13.7 percent; crushed stone, sand & gravel, up 11,107 carloads or 12.5 percent; and primary metal products, up 8,675 carloads or 22.4 percent. Commodities that saw declines in September 2021 from September 2020 included: motor vehicles & parts, down 22,486 carloads or 27.6 percent; grain, down 17,312 carloads or 14.7 percent; and petroleum & petroleum products, down 1,616 carloads or 3.1 percent.

Intermodal containers and trailers—at 1,328,527—were off 1.9%, or 47,459 units—annually.

“Rail intermodal volume is clearly not what it has been and could be,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “Keeping intermodal terminals functioning smoothly and at full capacity depends on consistent freight outflows to make room for new freight inflows. Unfortunately, due to limited availability of downstream truck and warehouse capacity, that’s not happening right now with predictable impacts on rail intermodal volume. There is no single solution to this problem but railroads are bringing intermodal yard capacity back online to increase storage availability as well as working with customers and truckers to accelerate container pickup among other efforts. At the same time, railroads continue to see improvements in carload business with a variety of industrial goods, including steel, paper, crushed stone and chemicals showing continued progress in September.”

Through the first nine months of 2021, U.S. rail carloads—at 9,009,639—are up 7.9%, or 658,222 carloads, annually. Intermodal containers and trailers—at 10,812,108 units—are up 9.9%, or 976,362 units, for the same period.

For the week ending October 2, U.S. rail carloads—at 241,910—are up 4.2% annually, and intermodal units—at 279,339—are down 4.4% annually.