The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending September 23, 2023.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 493,323 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.8 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending September 23 were 234,904 carloads, up 4.7 percent compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 258,419 containers and trailers, up 1.2 percent compared to 2022.
Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included metallic ores and metals, up 3,256 carloads, to 22,732; motor vehicles and parts, up 2,929 carloads, to 16,085; and chemicals, up 2,070 carloads, to 31,067. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 were coal, down 1,860 carloads, to 68,846; grain, down 226 carloads, to 18,072; and forest products, down 73 carloads, to 8,490.
For the first 38 weeks of 2023, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 8,538,842 carloads, up 0.2 percent from the same point last year; and 9,065,168 intermodal units, down 8.5 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 38 weeks of 2023 was 17,604,010 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 4.5 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending September 23, 2023, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 346,962 carloads, up 3.7 percent compared with the same week last year, and 342,697 intermodal units, down 0.3 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 689,659 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.7 percent. North American rail volume for the first 38 weeks of 2023 was 24,663,751 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9 percent compared with 2022.
Canadian railroads reported 96,025 carloads for the week, up 5.3 percent, and 72,918 intermodal units, down 4.6 percent compared with the same week in 2022. For the first 38 weeks of 2023, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,006,685 carloads, containers and trailers, down 3.4 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 16,033 carloads for the week, down 15.2 percent compared with the same week last year, and 11,360 intermodal units, down 3.9 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 38 weeks of 2023 was 1,053,056 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.8 percent from the same point last year.
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