U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes see steep declines, reports AAR

United States rail carload and intermodal volumes saw no signs of gains, remaining stifled by the ongoing impact of coronavirus, or COVID-19, for the week ending April 11, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

That was evident, as total U.S. rail carload and intermodal volume—at 412,503—saw a 21.9% annual decline.

Rail carloads—at 198,726—were down 23.8% annually and below the week’s ending April 4 and March 28, which came in at 210,911 and 219,844, respectively. AAR officials recently noted that going back to 1988, when it started tracking this data there have only been a few weeks when total U.S. rail carloads have been lower than they have been the last two weeks, which occurred during a few weeks, over Christmas and New Year’s, when rail operations are seasonally low.

Only one of the 10 carload commodities tracked by the AAR—grain—saw an annual increase, rising 595 carloads, to 22,237. Notable commodity groups seeing declines included coal, down 29,609 carloads, to 52,468; motor vehicles and parts, down 15,521 carloads, to 2,185; and metallic ores and metals, down 5,982 carloads, to 17,949.

Intermodal containers and trailers—at 213,777—saw a 20% annual decline, falling short of the tallies recorded for the weeks ending April 4 and March 28, at 218,184 and 229,923 respectively.

Through the first 15 weeks of 2020, U.S. rail carloads—at 3,402,68—are down 8.2% annually, and intermodal units—at 3,610,246—slipped 9.8%.

“The [COVID-19] pandemic is affecting firms in every industry, and railroads are no exception,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray in a statement. “When rail customers suffer a drop in demand for their products, their need for transportation services declines as well, and that negatively impacts rail volumes.  That said, railroads are continuing to move massive amounts of freight, including countless essential chemicals, food products and manufactured goods that we need in good times and bad. It’s still too early to say when the current crisis will end, but when it does – and it will - railroads will be ready to ramp up their service to safely, reliably and cost-effectively meet the freight transportation needs of our nation.”