United States rail carload and intermodal volume, for the week ending October 8, saw annual declines, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Rail carloads—at 232,930—were off 2.8% annually, trailing the week ending October 1, at 234,420, and topping the week ending September 24, at 231,528.
AAR said that three of the 10 carload commodity groups it tracks saw annual gains, including motor vehicles and parts, up 908 carloads, to 13,955; farm products excl. grain, and food, up 817 carloads, to 16,909; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 592 carloads, to 9,993. Commodities seeing annual declines included chemicals, down 2,750 carloads, to 30,187; miscellaneous carloads, down 1,496 carloads, to 9,425; and metallic ores and metals, down 1,395 carloads, to 20,995.
Intermodal containers and trailers—at 261,483—fell 2% annually, topping the weeks ending October 1 and September 24, at 261,448 and 257,853, respectively.
Through the first 40 weeks of 2022, AAR reported that total U.S. rail carload volume—at 9,252,232—is flat compared to the same period in 2021, and intermodal units—at 10,521,037—are down 5% annually.
North American rail volume for the week ending October 8, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 336,086 carloads, down 0.5 percent compared with the same week last year, and 354,116 intermodal units, down 0.8 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 690,202 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.6 percent. North American rail volume for the first 40 weeks of 2022 was 27,092,123 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.2 percent compared with 2021.