U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes are mixed in October, reports AAR

United States rail carload and intermodal volumes, for the month of October, were mixed, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Rail carloads—at 952,074—were up 0.5%, or 5,121 carloads, annually. And AAR said that seven of the 20 carload commodity groups it tracks saw annual gains, including: coal, up 14,937 carloads or 5.8%; crushed stone, sand & gravel, up 8,615 carloads or 10.7%; and motor vehicles & parts, up 5,998 carloads or 11.4%. Commodities seeing annual declines included: chemicals, down 6,195 carloads or 4.8%; primary metal products, down 4,645 carloads or 13.2%; and all other carloads, down 4,209 carloads or 16.8%.

When excluding coal, AAR said October carloads, were down by 9,816 carloads, or 1.4%, and when excluding coal and grain, they were off 1.5%, or 8,950 carloads.

Intermodal contains and trailers—at 1,062,422 units—were down 1.4%, or 15,095 units, annually.

“October is usually one of the highest-volume months of the year for rail carloads, and it’s the top month so far this year,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray in a statement. “Carloads of grain surged upward as U.S. producers sought alternatives to the Mississippi River constraints while motor vehicles had one of their better months since pre-pandemic times. Carloads of chemicals were down in part because of high natural gas feedstock prices. U.S. intermodal volumes remained subdued in October thanks largely to high inventories at many retailers, lower port volumes and still-scarce warehouse capacity for many rail intermodal customers.”

Through the first 10 months of 2022, U.S. carloads are up 0.1% annually, to 9,971,376, and intermodal units—at 11,321,976—are down 4.8%, or 567,336 units, annually.

For the week ending October 29, U.S. rail carloads are up 2.6% annually, to 244,425, and intermodal units were down 0.7%, to 270,032 units.