U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes see annual declines, for week ending May 14, reports AAR

United States rail carload and intermodal volumes, for the week ending May 14, saw annual declines, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Rail carloads—at 230,128—were down 5.2% annually, trailing the weeks ending May 7 and April 30, at 231,737 and 232,972, respectively.

AAR reported that three of the 10 carload commodity groups it tracks saw annual declines, including: nonmetallic minerals, up 1,570 carloads, to 33,344; farm products excl. grain, and food, up 993 carloads, to 16,257; and motor vehicles and parts, up 625 carloads, to 13,097. Commodity groups posting annual declines included coal, down 4,317 carloads, to 64,015; grain, down 3,561 carloads, to 21,910; and metallic ores and metals, down 2,289 carloads, to 21,426.

Intermodal containers and trailers—at 274,992 units—were down 5.5% annually, topping the weeks ending May 7 and April 30, at 273,190 and 273,727, respectively.

Through the first 19 weeks of 2021, AAR reported that U.S. rail carloads—at 4,368,828—eked out a 0.6% annual increase, and intermodal units—at 5,001,231—fell 6.9%.

North American rail volume for the week ending May 14, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 325,431 carloads, down 4.2 percent compared with the same week last year, and 367,153 intermodal units, down 4.2 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 692,584 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.2 percent. North American rail volume for the first 19 weeks of 2022 was 12,770,815 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9 percent compared with 2021.