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. 

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.

U.S. Rail Freight Traffic Had Mixed March

U.S. rail freight traffic was decidedly mixed during March, the Association of American Railroads reported.

Combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations for the month were 2,507,684, a decline of 3 percent or 78,714 carloads and intermodal units when compared with March 2021.

That breaks down to 1,169,546 carloads—up 1.2 percent or 13,456 carloads compared with the same month in 202.

Intermodal traffic for March 2022 was 1,338,138 containers and trailers, a drop of 6.4 percent or 92,170 units compared with last year.

John T. Gray, AAR senior vice president, said chemical carload traffic had its best month ever but grain, petroleum products and papers products posted significant declines.

At the same time Gray said carloads of crushed stone and sand, food products, lumber, and motor vehicles “were higher than they’ve been in months.”

Calling these trend “conflicting,” Gray said they reflect “an economy with a good deal of directional uncertainty; uncertainty that needs resolution before its full potential can be realized.”

The AAR figures showed that in March nine of the 20 carload commodity categories that it tracks posted gains compared with March 2021.

These included chemicals, up 18,291 carloads or 11.7 percent; coal, up 16,637 carloads or 5.4 percent; and crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 7,974 carloads or 8.5 percent.

Losing ground were grain, down 13,839 carloads or 10.8 percent; petroleum and petroleum products, down 9,033 carloads or 16.5 percent; and all other carloads, down 4,459 carloads or 14.6 percent.

Excluding coal, carloads fell by 3,181, or 0.4 percent. Excluding coal and grain, carloads were up by 10,658, or 1.5 percent.

Total U.S. carload traffic for the first three months of 2022 was 2,987,140, a gain of 2.6 percent, or 76,120 carloads compared with the first three months of 2021.

Railroads handled 3,369,898 intermodal units, a decline of 6.9 percent or 249,672 containers and trailers.

Total combined traffic for the first 13 weeks of 2022 was 6,357,038 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.7 percent decline from 2021.

February U.S. Rail Traffic up 5.7 Percent

February U.S. railroad freight traffic posted a 5.7 percent gain, the Association of American Railroads said this week.

The combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations for the month were 1,945,646 units, a gain of 104,819 carloads and intermodal units when compared with February 2021.

Carloads for the month were 915,329, a gain of 11 percent or 90,525 carloads over February 2020.

Intermodal traffic was 1,030,317 containers and trailers, which was a 1.4 percent or 14,294 increase.

AAR said 15 of the 20 carload commodity categories it tracks posted gains compared with February 2020.

These included: coal, up 47,238 carloads or 21.3 percent; chemicals, up 19,397 carloads or 16.4 percent; and crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 17,918 carloads or 36.3 percent.

Losing ground were motor vehicles and parts, down 6,358 carloads or 11.4 percent; petroleum and petroleum products, down 3,191 carloads or 8 percent; and all other carloads, down 2,162 carloads or 9.3 percent.

“U.S. rail traffic had big year-over-year gains in February largely because severe winter storms held volumes back last February,” AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray said in a statement..

“That said, there were pockets of real strength last month,” Gray said.

“For example, carloads of chemicals set a new monthly record last month, carloads of coal were the highest in five months and carloads of lumber were the most in eight months.”

Excluding coal, carloads were up 43,287 carloads, or 7.2 percent, in February 2022 compared with February 2021.

Excluding coal and grain, carloads were up 39,619 carloads, or 7.7 percent.

Total U.S. carload traffic for the first two months of 2022 were 1,817,594 carloads, an increase of 3.6 percent, or 62,664 carloads when compared with the same time period in 2020.

The 2,031,760 intermodal units was a drop of 7.2 percent, or 157,502 containers and trailers. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first eight weeks of 2022 was 3,849,354 carloads and intermodal units, falling 2.4 percent from the previous-year period.

U.S. January Rail Freight Traffic Was Mixed Bag

U.S. rail freight in January was a mixed bag, the Association of American Railroads reported on Wednesday.

Six of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by AAR posted traffic gains when compared with January 2021.

These included coal, up 13,596 carloads or 5.6 percent; crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 4,384 carloads or 7.2 percent; and chemicals, up 1,099 carloads or 0.8 percent.

Declines were seen by grain, down 15,396 carloads or 14 percent; motor vehicles and parts, down 11,559 carloads or 19.8 percent; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 9,509 carloads or 20.1 percent.

The combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations in January 2022 were 1,903,708, down 9.5 percent, or 199,657 carloads and intermodal units.

AAR officials said this was based on 902,265 carloads—down 3 percent or 27,861 carloads from the same month in 2021—and 1,001,443 containers and trailers—down 14.6 percent, or 171,796 units.

Excluding coal, carloads fell by 41,457, or 6 percent last month. Excluding coal and grain, carloads dropped by 26,061, or 4.5 percent.

AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray said January freight traffic “made for very difficult comparisons for a number of categories.”

He said January 2021 was the best January for grain since 1990, and was also the highest volume month ever for intermodal.

Gray said January 2022, though, saw the highest volume monthly volumes for rail carloads of chemicals, thus providing a strong base for future growth.

U.S. Rail Freight Down 4.5% in November

U.S. rail freight for November was down 4.5 percent the Association of American Railroads said this week.

Railroads during the month handled 917,787 carloads, rising 2 percent or 17,996 carloads when compared with November 2020.

They also handled 1,028,039 containers and trailers, a decline of 9.6 percent or 108,705 units compared to last year.

Total carload and intermodal originations for the month were 1,945,826, a decline of 90,709 carloads and intermodal units over the same month last year.

John T. Gray, AAR’s senior vice president, said coal enjoyed robust growth due largely to the price of natural gas used to generate electricity having doubled this year.

Gray noted that coal carloads through November have been up 11 percent.

“Chemicals, grain and commodities related to steel making have also all showed solid carload growth this year,” he said in a statement.

AAR said 15 of the 20 freight categories that it tracks have posted gains through the end of November.

Between January and November, U.S. Class I railroads have handled 10,874,439 carloads, up 7 percent or 710,728 carloads compared with the same period in 2020.

Intermodal traffic on a year-to-date basis has been 12,917,662 intermodal units, up 6.4 percent or 775,257 containers and trailers.

The combined traffic has been 23,792,101 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 6.7 percent.

During November AAR said gains were posted by coal, up 20,731 carloads or 8.6 percent; chemicals, up 5,563 carloads or 4.4 percent; and crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 5,067 carloads or 7.4 percent.

Losing ground were motor vehicles and parts, down 8,186 carloads or 14.1 percent; grain, down 7,901 carloads or 7.4 percent; and all other carloads, down 3,355 carloads or 14.6 percent.

All comparisons are with November 2020 figures.

Rail Freight Volume Down 2.3% Last Week

U.S. rail freight volume declined 2.3 percent for the week ending Oct. 20.

The Association of American Railroads said Class 1 carriers handled 239,195 carloads for a gain of 5.1 percent compared with the same week in 2020.

However as in past weeks, intermodal traffic drug down overall traffic volume. AAR said railroads handled 271,567 containers and trailers, down 8  percent. Combined, carloads and intermodal units was 510,762.

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups tracked by AAR saw gains.They included coal, up 8,175 carloads, to 65,712; metallic ores and metals, up 2,537 carloads, to 23,192; and miscellaneous carloads, up 1,537 carloads, to 11,036.

Losing ground were motor vehicles and parts, down 2,057 carloads, to 13,403; petroleum and petroleum products, down 623 carloads, to 9,544; and grain, down 138 carloads, to 25,857.

The year to date freight volume has been 9,718,385, an increase of 7.5. Intermodal traffic has been 11,617,749 units, an increase of 8.5.

Combined traffic has been 21,336,134 carloads and intermodal units, an 8  percent increase. All comparisons are with the 2020.