The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending January 22, 2022.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 477,462 carloads and intermodal units, down 9.8 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending January 22 were 223,395 carloads, down 3.3 percent compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 254,067 containers and trailers, down 14.8 percent compared to 2021.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2021. They were coal, up 2,727 carloads, to 66,313; chemicals, up 1,907 carloads, to 34,024; and nonmetallic minerals, up 125 carloads, to 25,354. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2021 included grain, down 4,034 carloads, to 23,259; motor vehicles and parts, down 3,284 carloads, to 10,845; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 2,902 carloads, to 9,608.
For the first three weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 667,062 carloads, down 4.5 percent from the same point last year; and 744,778 intermodal units, down 15.7 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first three weeks of 2022 was 1,411,840 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 10.8 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending January 22, 2022, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 313,395 carloads, down 6.6 percent compared with the same week last year, and 330,983 intermodal units, down 15 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 644,378 carloads and intermodal units, down 11.2 percent. North American rail volume for the first three weeks of 2022 was 1,895,033 carloads and intermodal units, down 12.4 percent compared with 2021.
Canadian railroads reported 69,070 carloads for the week, down 16.4 percent, and 61,804 intermodal units, down 16.1 percent compared with the same week in 2021. For the first three weeks of 2022, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 380,441 carloads, containers and trailers, down 18.9 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 20,930 carloads for the week, down 5.1 percent compared with the same week last year, and 15,112 intermodal units, down 15.2 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first three weeks of 2022 was 102,752 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 8.9 percent from the same point last year.
