The Association of American Railroads (AAR)  reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending February 5, 2022.  For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 458,152 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.6 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending February 5 were 218,286 carloads, down 3.6 percent compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 239,866 containers and trailers, down 11 percent compared to 2021.

Two of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2021. They were coal, up 4,682 carloads, to 64,582; and chemicals, up 348 carloads, to 33,921. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2021 included motor vehicles and parts, down 4,614 carloads, to 10,432; grain, down 2,569 carloads, to 23,517; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 2,315 carloads, to 9,148.

For the first five weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 1,120,551 carloads, down 3.1 percent from the same point last year; and 1,241,309 intermodal units, down 14 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first five weeks of 2022 was 2,361,860 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 9.1 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending February 5, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 308,622 carloads, down 4.4 percent compared with the same week last year, and 318,404 intermodal units, down 10.6 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 627,026 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.6 percent. North American rail volume for the first five weeks of 2022 was 3,199,148 carloads and intermodal units, down 10 percent compared with 2021.

Canadian railroads reported 69,102 carloads for the week, down 10.5 percent, and 63,418 intermodal units, down 10.5 percent compared with the same week in 2021. For the first five weeks of 2022, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 652,624 carloads, containers and trailers, down 15.2 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 21,234 carloads for the week, up 9.9 percent compared with the same week last year, and 15,120 intermodal units, down 4.4 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first five weeks of 2022 was 184,664 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 1.4 percent from the same point last year.

-via Press Release