The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending November 25, 2023.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 415,332 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.4 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending November 25 were 195,948 carloads, down 2.5 percent compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 219,384 containers and trailers, up 7.1 percent compared to 2022.
Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,034 carloads, to 8,642; metallic ores and metals, up 880 carloads, to 18,457; and chemicals, up 505 carloads, to 27,582. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 included miscellaneous carloads, down 3,804 carloads, to 6,256; nonmetallic minerals, down 1,701 carloads, to 21,525; and grain, down 1,328 carloads, to 17,961.
For the first 47 weeks of 2023, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 10,587,945 carloads, up 0.2 percent from the same point last year; and 11,412,394 intermodal units, down 6.3 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 47 weeks of 2023 was 22,000,339 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.3 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending November 25, 2023, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 302,649 carloads, down 2.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 299,802 intermodal units, up 6.1 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 602,451 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.7 percent. North American rail volume for the first 47 weeks of 2023 was 30,823,776 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.0 percent compared with 2022.
Canadian railroads reported 91,357 carloads for the week, down 4.5 percent, and 69,360 intermodal units, up 0.5 percent compared with the same week in 2022. For the first 47 weeks of 2023, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 7,500,788 carloads, containers and trailers, down 3.3 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 15,344 carloads for the week, up 17.5 percent compared with the same week last year, and 11,058 intermodal units, up 25.4 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 47 weeks of 2023 was 1,322,649 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 4.3 percent from the same point last year.