U.S. Class I railroads hauled a total of 472,498 carloads and intermodal units, comprising 224,412 carloads, down 3.0%, and 248,086 containers and trailers, down 5.3%.
In comparison, for the week ending Aug. 9, 2023, total U.S. rail traffic came in at 471,938 carloads and intermodal units, falling 3.2% compared with the same week last year, according to AAR. That comprises 222,199 carloads—down 1.0% from the prior-year period—and 249,739 containers and trailers—down 5.2% compared with 2022. And July saw the three highest-volume intermodal weeks of 2023, not including the week of Independence Day. While carloads of chemicals also rose in July—for the first time in nearly a year—the month was “exceptionally weak” for grain carloadings, AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray reported Aug. 2. “[W]e are cautious to put too much stock in this month’s exact results,” he stressed, since July rail volumes are always impacted by July 4 closures, “but there are reasons for both optimism and caution.”
For the week ending Aug. 12, 2023, three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same point last year. They were motor vehicles and parts, up 1,534 carloads, to 14,945; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,419 carloads, to 9,952; and miscellaneous carloads, up 695 carloads, to 9,281. Commodity groups that posted declines included grain, down 5,695 carloads, to 14,533; chemicals, down 1,869 carloads, to 29,957; and forest products, down 1,321 carloads, to 7,415.
For the first 32 weeks of 2023, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 7,166,006 carloads, up 0.2% from the prior-year period; and 7,578,973 intermodal units, down 9.4% from 2022. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 32 weeks of 2023 was 14,744,979 carloads and intermodal units, a 4.9% decrease from last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Aug. 12, 2023, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 329,821 carloads, down 0.7% vs. the year-earlier period, and 329,158 intermodal units, down 7.5% compared with 2022. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 658,979 carloads and intermodal units, a fall-off of 4.2%. North American rail volume for the first 32 weeks of 2023 came in at 20,689,575 carloads and intermodal units, decreasing 4.1% from last year.
Canadian railroads reported 87,490 carloads for the week ending Aug. 12, 2023, rising 1.9%, and 70,907 intermodal units, falling 14.7% vs. the same week last year. For the first 32 weeks of this year, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,043,304 carloads, containers and trailers, a 3% drop-off.
Mexican railroads reported 17,919 carloads for the week ending Aug. 12, 2023, a gain of 19.8% from the same week last year, and 10,165 intermodal units, a 3.6% decline. Their cumulative volume for the first 32 weeks of this year was 901,292 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, rising 5% from 2022.
