AAR Reports Rail Traffic for the week ending February 18, 2023
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending February 18, 2023.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 466,932 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.5 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending February 18 were 229,227 carloads, down 3.9 percent compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 237,705 containers and trailers, down 8.8 percent compared to 2022.
Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 1,396 carloads, to 13,664; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,378 carloads, to 10,630; and farm products excl. grain, and food, up 940 carloads, to 17,132. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 included coal, down 6,178 carloads, to 66,566; grain, down 3,118 carloads, to 21,864; and miscellaneous carloads, down 1,419 carloads, to 7,843.
For the first seven weeks of 2023, U.S. railroads reported a cumulative volume of 1,603,005 carloads, up 0.3 percent from the same point last year; and 1,631,109 intermodal units, down 7.8 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first seven weeks of 2023 was 3,234,114 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 4.0 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending February 18, 2023, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 335,772 carloads, up 0.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 313,084 intermodal units, down 8.3 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 648,856 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.0 percent. North American rail volume for the first seven weeks of 2023 was 4,461,274 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.2 percent compared with 2022.
Canadian railroads reported 82,527 carloads for the week, up 11.1 percent, and 59,995 intermodal units, down 6.9 percent compared with the same week in 2022. For the first seven weeks of 2023, Canadian railroads reported a cumulative rail traffic volume of 976,106 carloads, containers, and trailers, up 4.7 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 24,018 carloads for the week, up 10.2 percent compared with the same week last year, and 15,384 intermodal units, down 5.8 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first seven weeks of 2023 was 251,054 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 3.2 percent from the same point last year.
To view the weekly traffic charts, click here.
