U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes see December gains, reports AAR
United States December rail carload and intermodal volumes saw gains, while full-year 2023 tallies were mixed, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
December rail carloads, at 876,881, increased 7.3%, or 59,084 carloads, annually, said AAR. When excluding coal, AAR said December rail carloads increased by 45,883 carloads, or 7.9% annually, and when excluding coal and grain, December carloads were up 40,036 carloads, or 8.0%.
AAR said 16 of the 20 carload commodity groups it tracks saw annual gains, including: chemicals, up 14,636 carloads or 13.1%; coal, up 13,971 carloads or 5.9%; and motor vehicles & parts, up 7,212 carloads or 14.1%. Commodities posting annual declines included: crushed stone, sand & gravel, down 2,781 carloads or 4.1%; nonmetallic minerals, down 1,105 carloads or 9.8%; and all other carloads, down 625 carloads or 3.3%.
“Total U.S. rail carloads were up 2.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 over the fourth quarter of 2022, while U.S. intermodal was up 5.5 percent over the same period,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “That means Q4 was clearly the best quarter of 2023 for U.S. rail volumes on a year-over-year basis. It appears that intense rail efforts to improve service quality are paying off. Railroads are hopeful that gains in the fourth quarter will carry over into the first quarter of 2024 and beyond.”
December intermodal container and trailer volume, at 982,383 units, were up 10.2%, or 90,881 units, annually. Total U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes, at 1,859,264, rose 8.8%, or 150,685 carloads and intermodal units compared to December 2022.
Total 2023 U.S. rail carload volume, at 11,701,875, eked out a 0.7%, or 81,504 carloads increase compared to 2022. And intermodal units, at 12,667,354, were off 4.9%, or 657,165 containers and trailers, annually.
For the week ending December 30, U.S. rail carloads were up 4.1% annually, to 182,062, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 188,738 units, increased 2.7% annually.
