AAR reports declining U.S. rail carload and intermodal units, for week ending March 14

Both United States rail carload and intermodal volumes, for the week ending March 14, saw annual declines, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Rail carloads—at 226,039—fell 5.9% annually, trailing the week ending March 7, at 229,742, and the week ending February 29, at 234,652.

AAR said that six of the 10 carload commodity groups it tracks saw annual gains, including grain, up 1,288 carloads, to 19,911; motor vehicles and parts, up 1,180 carloads, to 19,104; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,164 carloads, to 13,294. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included coal, down 16,545 carloads, to 55,542; nonmetallic minerals, down 2,468 carloads, to 30,254; and metallic ores and metals, down 992 carloads, to 19,975.

Intermodal containers and trailers—at 236,978 units—slipped 9.1%, topping the week ending March 7, at 232,561, and the week ending February 22, at 242,959.

“Intermodal, rather than other rail sectors, is likely to see the earliest impacts from the coronavirus because large amounts of intermodal traffic go to or come from ports - roughly half of U.S. intermodal is exports or imports,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray in a statement.  “Unfortunately, extensive flooding and harsh winter weather last year at this time complicate comparisons between this year and last year.  That said, the fact that overall intermodal originations last week were the lowest for the same week since 2013 is strong evidence that the coronavirus is impacting intermodal volumes. This is emphasized by the fact four of the five carriers of intermodal traffic from west coast ports, the principal gateways serving the Chinese trade, saw declines in their intermodal business handled. Similar declines in the East also suggest that the problem has begun to spread to other regions of the supply chain.”

Through the first 11 weeks of 2020, AAR stated that U.S. rail carloads—at 2,549,159—decreased 6.2% compared to the same period a year ago, and intermodal units—at 2,712,444—are off 7.8%.