The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending June 17, 2023.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 477,126 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.0 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending June 17 were 228,724 carloads, up 1.2 percent compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 248,402 containers and trailers, down 6.5 percent compared to 2022.
Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 2,914 carloads, to 16,215; nonmetallic minerals, up 2,599 carloads, to 34,495; and metallic ores and metals, up 2,341 carloads, to 22,124. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 were grain, down 4,892 carloads, to 15,795; chemicals, down 2,084 carloads, to 29,780; and forest products, down 272 carloads, to 8,284.
For the first 24 weeks of 2023, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 5,396,609 carloads, up 0.7 percent from the same point last year; and 5,615,250 intermodal units, down 10.7 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 24 weeks of 2023 was 11,011,859 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 5.5 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending June 17, 2023, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 332,282 carloads, up 1.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 333,358 intermodal units, down 5.5 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 665,640 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.3 percent. North American rail volume for the first 24 weeks of 2023 was 15,500,857 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.1 percent compared with 2022.
Canadian railroads reported 86,539 carloads for the week, down 1.4 percent, and 72,939 intermodal units, down 4.9 percent compared with the same week in 2022. For the first 24 weeks of 2023, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 3,836,993 carloads, containers and trailers, down 1.0 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 17,019 carloads for the week, up 18.7 percent compared with the same week last year, and 12,017 intermodal units, up 15.6 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 24 weeks of 2023 was 652,005 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 1.7 percent from the same point last year.
