US Weekly Rail Traffic Up 3% Year-Over-Year in the Week Ending October 7th

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Wednesday (10-11-23) that total US weekly rail traffic was 499,217 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending October 7th, an increase of 3.0% compared with the same week last year.

For the week ending October 7th, total carloads amounted to 233,768, up 3.6% year-over-year, while US weekly intermodal volume was 265,449 containers and trailers, up 2.5% year-over-year. The AAR reports that 7 of the 10 carload commodity groups posted a year-over-year increase. In regard to forest products, the AAR reports that 7,937 carloads were shipped during the week.

For the first 40 weeks of 2023, US railroads reported a cumulative volume of 9,008,598 carloads, up 0.4% from the same point last year, and 9,594,783 intermodal units, down 7.9% from this week last year. Total combined US traffic for the first 40 weeks of 2023 was 18,603,381 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 4.1% compared to this week last year.

Across 12 reporting US, Canadian, and Mexican railroads, North American rail volume for the week ending October 7th totaled 346,637 carloads, up 2.6% year-over-year, and 349,627 intermodal units, up 0.5% year-over-year. North American rail volume for the first 40 weeks of 2023 was a combined 26,066,184 carloads and intermodal units, a decline of 3.6% compared with the same time period in 2022.

Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume for the first 40 weeks of 2023 of 6,344,008 carloads, containers, and trailers. This represents a 3.4% year-over-year decline.

Mexican railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume for the first 40 weeks of 2023 of 1,118,795 carloads, containers, and trailers. This represents a 3.4% year-over-year increase.