According to the Association of American Railroad’s Weekly Report published on October 12, 2022, for this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 494,413 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.4 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending October 8 were 232,930 carloads, down 2.8 percent compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 261,483 containers and trailers, down 2 percent compared to 2021.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2021. They were 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. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2021 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.
For the first 40 weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 9,252,232 carloads, up 0 percent from the same point last year; and 10,521,037 intermodal units, down 5 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 40 weeks of 2022 was 19,773,269 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.7 percent compared to last year.
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.
Canadian railroads reported 80,924 carloads for the week, up 5 percent, and 74,678 intermodal units, up 1.9 percent compared with the same week in 2021. For the first 40 weeks of 2022, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,812,676 carloads, containers and trailers, down 2.1 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 22,232 carloads for the week, up 5.7 percent compared with the same week last year, and 17,955 intermodal units, up 6.7 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 40 weeks of 2022 was 1,506,178 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 4 percent from the same point last year.
