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

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

Rail carloads, at 921,951, were off 0.3%, or 2,921 carloads, annually, said AAR. When excluding coal, AAR said carloads were up 9,363 carloads, or 1.4%, annually, and when excluding coal and grain, carloads were up 13,736 carloads, or 2.5%.

AAR said that nine of the 20 carload commodity categories it tracks saw annual gains, including: petroleum & petroleum products, up 5,046 carloads or 14.2%; chemicals, up 3,842 carloads or 3.2%; and motor vehicles & parts, up 3,154 carloads or 5.4%. Commodities posting annual declines included: coal, down 12,284 carloads or 4.5%; grain, down 4,373 carloads or 4.7%; and crushed stone, sand & gravel, down 795 carloads or 0.9%.

Intermodal containers and trailers, at 1,075,731 units, rose 2.2%, or 23,201 units, annually. AAR said that combined rail carload and intermodal volume, at 1,997,322 units, increased 0.1%, or 20,280 carloads and intermodal units, compared to October 2022.

“Combined carload and intermodal volumes on U.S. railroads in October were the most for any month since June 2021, a span of 28 months,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray in a statement. “Part of that relates to intermodal seasonality and concerns over Panama Canal capacity, but part of it also reflects an economy that remains resilient as reflected by recent strong GDP data.”

Through the first 10 months of 2023, AAR said that U.S. rail carload volume, at 9,696,421, eked out a 0.2%, or 21,802 carloads, annual gain, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 10,405,065, was off 7.2%, or 808,532 containers and trailers.

And total combined U.S. traffic for the first 43 weeks of 2023 was 20,101,486 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.8% annually.

For the week ending October 28, AAR reported that U.S. rail carloads, at 227,575, were down 1.2% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 271,814, were down 1.5% annually.