U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes are mixed in January, reports AAR
United States rail carload and intermodal volumes, for the month of January, were mixed, according to data issued by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) this week.
U.S. rail carloads, at 1,025,168, were down 7.2%, or 79,725 carloads, compared to January 2023. When excluding coal, carloads, were off 5.0%, or 39,183 carloads, annually, and when excluding coal and grain, carloads were down 3.7%, or 24,816 carloads.
AAR reported that six of the 20 carload commodity categories it tracks saw annual gains compared, including: chemicals, up 4,298 carloads or 2.9%; petroleum & petroleum products, up 2,172 carloads or 4.5%; and primary metal products, up 1,447 carloads or 3.6%. Commodities posting annual declines included: coal, down 40,542 carloads or 12.3%; crushed stone, sand & gravel, down 18,260 carloads or 19.5%; and grain, down 14,367 carloads or 12.8%.
Intermodal containers and trailers, at 1,206,014, headed up 5.5%, or 63,195 units, annually in January. And combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations, at 2,231,182, were off 0.7%, or 16,530 carloads and intermodal units, compared to January 2023.
“In January, severe winter weather significantly disrupted railroad and rail customer operations in much of the country,” said AAR economist Dan Keen in a statement. “Moreover, uncertainty remains in the economy, especially in sectors that are important to railroads, like manufacturing. Because of these factors, January is not necessarily a harbinger of what’s to come for rail traffic in the months ahead.”
For the week ending February 3, AAR reported that U.S. rail carloads, at 222,213, increased 6.3% annually, and intermodal units, at 269,484, rose 16.5% annually.
