The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending December 30, 2023, as well as volumes for December 2023.
U.S. railroads originated 876,881 carloads in December 2023, up 7.3 percent, or 59,804 carloads, from December 2022. U.S. railroads also originated 982,383 containers and trailers in December 2023, up 10.2 percent, or 90,881 units, from the same month last year. Combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations in December 2023 were 1,859,264, up 8.8 percent, or 150,685 carloads and intermodal units from December 2022.
In December 2023, 16 of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR each month saw carload gains compared with December 2022. These included: chemicals, up 14,636 carloads or 13.1 percent; coal, up 13,971 carloads or 5.9 percent; and motor vehicles & parts, up 7,212 carloads or 14.1 percent. Commodities that saw declines in December 2023 from December 2022 included: crushed stone, sand & gravel, down 2,781 carloads or 4.1 percent; nonmetallic minerals, down 1,105 carloads or 9.8 percent; and all other carloads, down 625 carloads or 3.3 percent.
“Total U.S. rail carloads were up 2.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 over the fourth quarter of 2022, while U.S. intermodal was up 5.5 percent over the same period. That means Q4 was clearly the best quarter of 2023 for U.S. rail volumes on a year-over-year basis,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “It appears that intense rail efforts to improve service quality are paying off. Railroads are hopeful that gains in the fourth quarter will carry over into the first quarter of 2024 and beyond.”
Excluding coal, carloads were up 45,833 carloads, or 7.9 percent, in December 2023 from December 2022. Excluding coal and grain, carloads were up 40,036 carloads, or 8.0 percent.
Total U.S. carload traffic for the first 12 months of 2023 was 11,701,875 carloads, up 0.7 percent, or 81,504 carloads, from the same period last year; and 12,667,354 intermodal units, down 4.9 percent, or 657,165 containers and trailers, from last year.
Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 52 weeks of 2023 was 24,369,229 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.3 percent compared to last year.
Week Ending December 30, 2023
Total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 370,800 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.4 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending December 30 were 182,062 carloads, up 4.1 percent compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 188,738 containers and trailers, up 2.7 percent compared to 2022.
Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included chemicals, up 6,273 carloads, to 30,543; farm products excl. grain, and food, up 2,370 carloads, to 15,310; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,537 carloads, to 8,936. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 included motor vehicles and parts, down 1,705 carloads, to 7,712; miscellaneous carloads, down 1,493 carloads, to 5,317; and nonmetallic minerals, down 898 carloads, to 18,723.
North American rail volume for the week ending December 30, 2023, on 10 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 270,807 carloads, up 5.0 percent compared with the same week last year, and 254,475 intermodal units, up 3.8 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 525,282 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.4 percent. North American rail volume for the first 52 weeks of 2023 was 34,105,519 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.1 percent compared with 2022.
Canadian railroads reported 75,463 carloads for the week, up 9.9 percent, and 56,220 intermodal units, up 6.4 percent compared with the same week in 2022. For the first 52 weeks of 2023, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 8,299,862 carloads, containers and trailers, down 2.4 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 13,282 carloads for the week, down 8.1 percent compared with the same week last year, and 9,517 intermodal units, up 13.1 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 52 weeks of 2023 was 1,436,428 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.1 percent from the same point last year.
To view the traffic charts, click here.
