Canadian and Mexican railroads also saw increases in carloads for the week, up 11.5% and 13.4%, respectively; only Mexican roads saw a boost in intermodal, up 11.8%.
In Week 49 (ending Dec. 10, 2022), U.S. Class I railroads hauled a total of 500,310 carloads and intermodal units, comprising 242,007 carloads and 258,303 containers and trailers.
According to AAR, six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2021. They included coal, up 5,921 carloads, to 72,541; nonmetallic minerals, up 1,514 carloads, to 32,575; and motor vehicles and parts, up 1,107 carloads, to 15,051. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2021 included chemicals, down 5,042 carloads, to 30,258; grain, down 1,067 carloads, to 23,806; and forest products, down 607 carloads, to 9,296.
For the first 49 weeks of this year, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 11,376,119 carloads, a 0.1% boost over the same point in 2021; and 12,810,570 intermodal units, a 4.9% drop from 2021. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 49 weeks of this year was 24,186,689 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.6% compared with 2021.
North American rail volume for the week ending Dec. 10, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 345,288 carloads, rising 4.3% from the same week last year, and 338,311 intermodal units, falling 4.4% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 683,599 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.2%. North American rail volume for the first 49 weeks of this year was 33,189,175 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.8% compared with 2021.
Canadian railroads reported 80,453 carloads for the week ending Dec. 10, 2022, increasing 11.5%, and 63,300 intermodal units, dipping 1.9% compared with the same week last year. For the first 49 weeks of 2022, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 7,153,334 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.5%.
For the week ending Dec. 10, 2022, Mexican railroads reported 22,828 carloads, a 13.4% gain over the same week last year, and 16,708 intermodal units, a 11.8% rise. Their cumulative volume for the first 49 weeks of this year was 1,849,152 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 3.8% from the same point in 2021.
