The Association of American Railroads (AAR)  reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending May 7, 2022. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 504,927 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.5 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending May 7 were 231,737 carloads, down 1.9 percent compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 273,190 containers and trailers, down 4.9 percent compared to 2021.

Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2021. They were motor vehicles and parts, up 3,071 carloads, to 14,400; nonmetallic minerals, up 1,671 carloads, to 33,952; and coal, up 522 carloads, to 63,281. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2021 included metallic ores and metals, down 4,195 carloads, to 19,315; grain, down 2,813 carloads, to 22,402; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 1,177 carloads, to 8,940.

For the first 18 weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 4,138,700 carloads, up 1 percent from the same point last year; and 4,726,239 intermodal units, down 7 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 18 weeks of 2022 was 8,864,939 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.4 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending May 7, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 329,158 carloads, down 0.5 percent compared with the same week last year, and 367,244 intermodal units, down 3.1 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 696,402 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.9 percent. North American rail volume for the first 18 weeks of 2022 was 12,078,231 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9 percent compared with 2021.

Canadian railroads reported 75,688 carloads for the week, down 0.1 percent, and 78,457 intermodal units, up 1.3 percent compared with the same week in 2021. For the first 18 weeks of 2022, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 2,541,637 carloads, containers and trailers, down 6.9 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 21,733 carloads for the week, up 15.1 percent compared with the same week last year, and 15,597 intermodal units, up 9.3 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 18 weeks of 2022 was 671,655 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.7 percent from the same point last year.

-via Press Release