United States rail carload and intermodal volumes, for the week ending February 12, were mixed, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Rail carloads—at 236,457—saw an 11.9% annual gain, topping the weeks ending February 5 and January 29, at 218,286 and 235,203, respectively.
AAR said that seven of the 10 carload commodity groups it tracks saw annual gains, including: coal, up 14,634 carloads, to 69,021; nonmetallic minerals, up 5,315 carloads, to 28,262; and farm products excl. grain, and food, up 2,022 carloads, to 16,911. Commodity groups with annual declines included: petroleum and petroleum products, down 345 carloads, to 9,673; motor vehicles and parts, down 305 carloads, to 13,659; and miscellaneous carloads, down 282 carloads, to 9,649.
Intermodal containers and trailers—at 268,025—saw a 0.4% annual decrease, topping the weeks ending February 5 and January 29, at 239,866 and 256,665, respectively.
Through the first six weeks of 2022, AAR reported that U.S. rail carloads—at 1,357,008—are off 0.8% annually, and intermodal units—at 1,509,334—are down 11.8%.
North American rail volume for the week ending February 12, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 329,598 carloads, up 9.3% compared with the same week last year, and 350,974 intermodal units, down 0.1% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 680,572 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.3%. North American rail volume for the first six weeks of 2022 was 3,879,720 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.8% compared with 2021.