Freight Traffic Fell in April, AAR Says

U.S. Rail traffic during April continued to decline, the Association of American Railroads said this week.

Traffic for the month was down 6.0 percent or 120,898 carloads and intermodal units compared to the same month in 2022.

During April, U.S. Class I railroads hauled 1,881,950 carloads a gain of 936,637 carloads or 1.8 percent when compared with April 2022.

However, the 945,313 containers and trailers that the carriers handled during the month was a loss of 12.7 percent compared with the same month in 2022.

Seven of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR each month posted gains compared with April 2022.

These included: coal, up 10,098 carloads or 4.1 percent; crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 7,901 carloads or 9.7 percent; and motor vehicles and parts, up 6,483 carloads or 12.3 percent.

Losing ground were chemicals, down 4,677 carloads or 3.4 percent; grain, down 3,294 carloads or 3.7 percent; and nonmetallic minerals, down 2,263 carloads or 14.9 percent.

Excluding coal, carloads were up 6,883 carloads, or 1.0 percent. Excluding coal and grain, carloads were up 10,177 carloads, or 1.7 percent.

Total U.S. carload traffic for the first four months of 2023 was 3,930,129 carloads, up 0.6 percent, or 23,161 carloads, from the same period last year; and 3,968,876 intermodal units, down 10.9 percent, or 484,228 containers and trailers, from last year.

Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 17 weeks of 2023 has been 7,899,005 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 5.5 percent compared to last year.

In a statement, AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray said intermodal volume continues to lag due to significantly lower trade activity at ports, weaker consumer demand, and continued excess retail inventories from the pandemic era.

 “These headwinds won’t last forever,” Gray said. “When they dissipate, railroads will be prepared to meet their customers’ needs safely and reliably.”

Intermodal Has Worst January Since 2013

Intermodal traffic in January posted its worst performance since 2013 the Association of American Railroads reported.

AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray attributed the decline to retailers cutting back on inventories in response to reduced consumer spending.

Total U.S. carload traffic was 923,696 carloads, up 2.2 percent, or 19,827 carloads compared with January 2022.

Intermodal volume was 919,928 intermodal units, down 8.1 percent, or 81,443 containers and trailers, from last year.

Total combined U.S. traffic for the first four weeks of 2023 was 1,843,624 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.2 percent compared to last year.

U.S. rail traffic for January was down 3.2 percent compared with January 2022.

Twelve of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR posted gains compared with January 2022.

Gainers included crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 14,694 carloads or 22.6 percent; coal, up 11,953 carloads or 4.6 percent; and motor vehicles and parts, up 6,293 carloads or 13.4 percent.

Losing ground last month were chemicals, down 15,641 carloads or 11.4 percent; all other carloads, down 2,273 carloads or 10.3 percent; and lumber and wood products, down 1,939 carloads or 14.5 percent.

Excluding coal, carloads were up 7,874 carloads, or 1.2 percent, in January 2023 from January 2022.

Excluding coal and grain, carloads were up 5,518 carloads, or 1.0 percent.

“Rail traffic began 2023 much the same way we ended 2022—demonstrating reasons for both optimism and caution,” Gray said, citing January as the best month for carloads of crushed stone and sand on record, largely due to the growth in domestic natural gas production and the need for frac sand.

Automotive traffic has yet to reach pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, but posted improvement compared with 2022.

U.S. Freight Traffic Down in 2022

U.S. freight railroad carload and intermodal traffic both fell in 2022 the Association of American Railroads reported this week.

Carload traffic was down 0.3 percent while intermodal volume fell 4.9 percent. The comparisons are to calendar year 2021.

Carload traffic for the year was 11,976,283 carloads or 34,001 carloads in 2022. Intermodal volume was 13,452,480 intermodal units or 686,580 containers and trailers.

Total combined U.S. traffic for 2022 was 25,428,763 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.8 percent compared to 2021.

Single-digit declines occurred during December 2022 when compared with December 2021.

AAR figures showed railroads originated 842,171 carloads in December 2022, down 4.4 percent, or 38,476 carloads.

December 2022 intermodal traffic was 900,213 containers and trailers down 5.2 percent, or 49,107 units compared with the same month in 2021.

Combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations in December 2022 were 1,742,384, down 4.8 percent, or 87,583 carloads and intermodal units from December 2021.

In December 2022, four of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR posted gains.

That included motor vehicles and parts, up 5,842 carloads or 12.9 percent; crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 2,034 carloads or 3 percent; and food products, up 721 carloads or 3.2 percent.

Losing ground in December were chemicals, down 16,067 carloads or 12.1 percent; coal, down 12,991 carloads or 5.2 percent; and grain, down 4,589 carloads or 5.2 percent.

“Rail markets are always evolving, and 2022 was no exception,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray in a statement.

Gray said coal volume grew solidly last year largely because higher natural gas prices made coal-fired electricity generation more competitive.

“However, those same higher natural gas prices, along with other market disruptors, hurt rail chemical volumes since natural gas is a key raw material for chemical manufacturing,” Gray said.

Grain carloads in 2022 were slightly higher than the annual average over the past decade, but they were down compared with 2021, which was the best year for grain carloads since 2008.

Although intermodal traffic in 2022 was the sixth best on record, the grain volume of 2021 was stronger.

November Rail Freight Traffic Another Mixed Bag

U.S. rail traffic in November presented another mixed bag with some commodities growing but others losing ground.

Figures released by the Association of American Railroad showed that Class I railroads handled 1,162,736 carloads in November 2022, down 0.9 percent, or 10,437 carloads, from the same month in 2021.

Intermodal traffic was 1,230,291 containers and trailers, down 5.4 percent, or 70,107 units, compared with November 2021.

The combined carload and intermodal originations of 2,393,027, was down 3.3 percent, or 80,544 carloads and intermodal units compared with the same month last year.

Eight eight of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR posted gains.

These included crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 8,726 carloads or 9.2 percent; motor vehicles and parts, up 5,372 carloads or 8.3 percent; and all other carloads, up 2,579 carloads or 10 percent.

Losing ground were chemicals, down 17,608 carloads or 10.3 percent; grain, down 3,757 carloads or 3 percent; and pulp and paper products, down 1,993 carloads or 7.2 percent.

AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray said some of the losses can be attributed to economic factors in the industries associated with those commodities.

“For example, relatively slow lumber carloads are consistent with the weak market for new home construction,” Gray said in a statement.

“Conversely, rail-hauled motor vehicles and vehicle parts volumes have been rising as automakers have increased output thanks to greater parts availability.”

He said another factor is that historically Thanksgiving week is one of the lowest-volume weeks of the year for rail traffic.

During November if coal is excluded, carloads fell by 12,153 carloads, or 1.4 percent. Excluding coal and grain, carloads were down by 8,396 carloads, or 1.2 percent.

Total U.S. carload traffic for the first 11 months of 2022 was 11,134,112 carloads, up 0 percent, or 4,475 carloads, from the same period last year.

Intermodal traffic has been 12,552,267 intermodal units, down 4.8 percent, or 637,473 containers and trailers, from the year-ago period.

Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 48 weeks of 2022 has been 23,686,379 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.6 percent decrease from 2021. 

U.S. Freight Traffic Up 0.5% in October

Rail freight traffic in October was up 0.5 percent the Association of American Railroads said on Wednesday.

U.S. railroads originated 952,074 carloads last month, the AAR said, which was 5,121 carloads more than they handled in October 2021.

The totals included 1,062,422 containers and trailers, which was a drop of 1.4 percent or 15,095 units, compared with October 2021.

The combined, carload and intermodal originations of 2,014,496 was down 0.5 percent, or 9,974 carloads and intermodal units, from last year.

AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray said October is usually one of the highest-volume months of the year for rail carloads and has proven to be the best month thus far in 2022.

Gray said intermodal traffic remains subdued largely because of high inventories at many retailers, lower port volumes and still-scarce warehouse capacity for many rail intermodal customers.

During October seven of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by AAR posted gains.

They included coal, up 14,937 carloads or 5.8 percent; crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 8,615 carloads or 10.7 percent; and motor vehicles and parts, up 5,998 carloads or 11.4 percent. Losing ground were chemicals, down 6,195 carloads or 4.8 percent; primary metal products, down 4,645 carloads or 13.2 percent; and all other carloads, down 4,209 carloads or 16.8 percent.

All comparisons are with October 2021.

Gray noted that grain traffic surged because producers chose rail as an alternative to the Mississippi River constraints. He said motor vehicles traffic had one of its better months since before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in March 2020.

“Carloads of chemicals were down in part because of high natural gas feedstock prices,” Gray said in a statement.

Excluding coal, carloads were down 9,816, or 1.4 percent, in October compared with October 2021. Excluding coal and grain, carloads were down 8,950, or 1.5 percent.

AAR said rail freight volume in October was similar to the result of July and August when carloads were up and intermodal volume was down.

In September carloads and intermodal volume alike were down compared to the same month in 2021.

Thus far in 2022, U.S. carload traffic has been 9,971,376 carloads, up 0.1 percent, or 14,912 carloads, compared with the first 10 months of 2021.

Intermodal traffic has been 11,321,976 intermodal units, down 4.8 percent, or 567,366 containers and trailers.

Total combined freight traffic for the first 43 weeks of 2022 was 21,293,352 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.5 percent decline compared with last year.

Rail Traffic Mostly Down in September

September turned out to be a downer for rail freight traffic.

The Association of American Railroads said this week that for the month intermodal traffic fell by 4.8 percent while carload traffic was down 1.1 percent.

The percentages are in comparison to traffic in September 2021.

AAR figures showed U.S. Class I railroads originated 928,590 carloads in September 2022, decreasing by 10,639 carloads when compared with the same month last year.

The railroads last month handled 1,011,304 containers and trailers, a decline  of 51,039 units compared with September 2021.

Combined carload and intermodal originations in September 2022 were 1,939,894, down 3.1 percent, or 61,678 carloads and intermodal units when compare with the same month in 2021.

In a news release, AAR’s John T. Gray, senior vice president, said the September decline reflected a decline in consumer purchases.

He said that in late 2020 and throughout 2021 retailers overbought inventory and with slowing consumer demand they now have substantial inventories of unsold goods, which in turn is creating weak replacement demand.

With fewer consumers buying goods via the Internet, there has been less movement of trailers carrying packaged goods by rail.

The AAR said that during September six of the 20 carload commodity categories it tracks posted carload gains compared with September 2021.

These included crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 8,987 carloads or 11.2 percent; motor vehicles and parts, up 8,380 carloads or 18 percent; and coal, up 4,886 carloads or 1.8 percent. Commodities posting declines included primary metal products, down 6,341 carloads or 16.6 percent; all other carloads, down 4,879 carloads or 21 percent; and grain, down 4,227 carloads or 5 percent.

Excluding coal, carloads were down 15,525 carloads, or 2.3 percent, in September compared with the same month in 2022. Excluding coal and grain, carload traffic fell 1,298 carloads, or 1.9 percent.

Total carload traffic for the first nine months of 2022 has been 9,019,302 carloads, up 0.1 percent, or 9,791 carloads compared with the same time last year.

Intermodal traffic has been 10,259,554 units, down 5.1 percent, or 552,271 containers and trailers compared to this time last year.

Total combined traffic for the first 39 weeks of this year has been 19,278,856 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.7 percent fall compared with 2021.

Rail Freight Up 0.4% in August

U.S. Class I railroads handled 1,189,892 carloads in August 2022, a gain of 2.3 percent, or 27,040 carloads when compared with the same month in 2021.

Figures released by the Association of American Railroads showed that during August 2022 the railroads handled 1,335,618 containers and trailers, down 1.2 percent, or 15,856 units, from August 2021.

Combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations last month were 2,525,510, up 0.4 percent, or 11,184 carloads and intermodal units from August 2021.

Eleven of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw carload gains compared with August 2021.

These included coal, up 17,468 carloads or 5.2 percent; grain, up 12,594 carloads or 14.1 percent; and crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 7,327 carloads or 7.1 percent.

Losing ground were primary metal products, down 6,711 carloads or 14.1 percent; all other carloads, down 4,914 carloads or 15.9 percent; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 3,410 carloads or 6.6 percent.

In a statement, AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray said there is reason to believe the nation’s economy is on track to stimulate continued improvements in rail volumes.

“To be sure, some traffic categories are doing better than others, just like some sectors of the economy are doing better than others,” Gray said. “Through additional hiring and continued investments, railroads are preparing themselves for growth.”

Rail Freight Traffic in July Was Mixed Picture

The good news in the rail traffic report for July is that 10 of the 20 carload commodities tracked by the Association of American Railroads posted gains.

But the other 10 saw declines, which led AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray to say in a statement that rail traffic for the month was evenly balanced between gains and losses.

“As such, it does not provide definitive evidence regarding the state of the overall economy,” Gray said. “In that respect, it is very similar to most other recent economic indicators.”

U.S. Class I railroads handled 906,903 carloads in July, an increase of 0.2 percent, or 2,213 carloads when compared with July 2021.

That was offset by the traffic of 1,033,906 containers and trailers, which represented a decline of 3 percent, or 32,094 units.

Combined carload and intermodal traffic for the month was 1,940,809, down 1.5  percent, or 29,881 carloads and intermodal units when compared with July 2021.

AAR said commodities that gained ground during July when compared to the same month in 2021 included coal, up 5,588 carloads or 2.2 percent; crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 5,197 carloads or 6.7 percent; and motor vehicles and parts, up 3,726 carloads or 8.2 percent.

Losing ground were primary metal products, down 7,065 carloads or 19.2  percent; all other carloads, down 3,311 carloads or 15.1  percent; and stone, clay and glass products, down 2,202 carloads or 6.7  percent.

Freight Traffic Down 3.2% in June

U.S. Class I railroads hauled 1,157,555 carloads in June, a decline of 1.5 percent, or 17,970 carloads when compared with the same month in 2021.

The Association of American Railroads said that intermodal traffic this past June was 1,323,119 containers and trailers, a decline of 4.6 percent or 63,483 units compared with June 2021.

Combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations in June 2022 was 2,480,674, a fall of 3.2 percent, or 81,453 carloads and intermodal units compared with the same month last year.

AAR said eight of the 20 carload commodities it tracks posted carload gains in June.

These included crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 7,028 carloads or 7.3 percent; grain, up 4,794 carloads or 4.5 percent; and motor vehicles and parts, up 3,839 carloads or 6.2 percent.

Losing ground were coal, down 10,226 carloads or 3.1 percent; all other carloads, down 7,532 carloads or 23.1 percent; and primary metal products, down 5,388 carloads or 11.6 percent.

Excluding coal, carloads were down 7,744 carloads, or 0.9 percent, in June 2022 from June 2021. Excluding coal and grain, they were down 12,538 carloads, or 1.7 percent.

AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray said this week that the June traffic report doesn’t indicate whether the economy is on the verge of a recession as many economists are warning.

“Like many other economic indicators today, rail traffic is a mix of red, yellow and green, with some traffic lines, such as automotive, providing generally positive indicators, while others, such as chemicals, being a bit more subdued than they were earlier in the year,” Gray said.

Carload traffic for the first six months of this year was 5,993,917, down 0.1 percent, or 8,823 carloads compared with the first half of 2021.

Intermodal traffic was 6,878,726 intermodal units, down 6.2 percent, or 453,282 containers and trailers.

Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 26 weeks of 2022 was 12,872,643 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.5 percent drop compared with the same period in 2021.

Some Freight Made Gains in April

U.S. rail freight traffic in April showed gains but also fell short of what it was in the same month a year ago.

The Association of American Railroads said combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations in April were 2,002,854, a decline of 5.8 percent, or 122,798 carloads and intermodal units when compared with April 2021.

Carload traffic was 919,703 carloads, a fall of 3.4 percent or 31,929 carloads while intermodal traffic was 1,083,151 containers and trailers, a decline of 7.7 percent or 90,869 units.

Eight of the 20 carload commodity categories that AAR tracks saw carload gains compared with April 2021.

These included motor vehicles and parts, up 5,649 carloads or 12 percent; chemicals, up 4,463 carloads or 3.4 percent; and food products, up 1,632 carloads or 6.7 percent.

Losing ground were grain, down 15,817 carloads or 15.2 percent; metallic ores, down 9,070 carloads or 32.5 percent; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 7,670 carloads or 17.3 percent.

Excluding coal, carloads fell by 29,329 carloads, or 4.2 percent, in April 2022. Excluding coal and grain, carloads were down by 13,512 carloads, or 2.3 percent.

“U.S. rail traffic in April had something for everyone,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray in a statement.  “Optimists can point to autos, chemicals and scrap, all of which had solid gains. Pessimists can point to grain, intermodal and petroleum products, which saw significant declines.”

Gray said in the middle were industrial products, an aggregation of seven key carload categories, which fell slightly in April.

During April intermodal traffic set records. Grain, food, lumber, paper, scrap metal and several other commodity categories exceeded the April 2019 pre-pandemic levels as well as April 2020’s pandemic levels, Gray said.

Total carload traffic for the first four months of 2022 has been 3,906,843 carloads, rising 1.1 percent, or 44,191 carloads, from the previous-year period; and 4,453,049 intermodal units, falling 7.1 percent, or 340,541 containers and trailers.

Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 17 weeks of 2022 was 8,359,892 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.4 percent decline from 2021.