U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes fall in September, reports AAR

United States rail carload and intermodal volumes, for the month of September, saw annual declines, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Rail carloads—at 928,590—fell 1.1%, or 10,639 carloads, AAR reported. When excluding coal, carloads were down 15,525 carloads, or 2.3%, and when excluding coal and grain, carloads were down 11,298 carloads, or 1.9%.

AAR said that six of the 20 carload commodity groups it tracks saw gains in September, including: crushed stone, sand & gravel, up 8,987 carloads or 11.2%; motor vehicles & parts, up 8,380 carloads or 18%; and coal, up 4,886 carloads or 1.8%. Commodities that saw annual declines included: primary metal products, down 6,341 carloads or 16.6 percent; all other carloads, down 4,879 carloads or 21%; and grain, down 4,227 carloads or 5%.

Intermodal containers and trailers—at 1,011,3904 units, fell 4.8%, or 51,039 units, annually. And total rail carload and intermodal volume—at 1,939,894—fell 3.1%, or 61,678 carloads.

“During September, intermodal slowed as consumers continued to switch consumption more toward services and away from goods,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray in a statement. “However, two underlying factors have helped magnify this trend for railroads. The first is overbuying by many retailers in late 2020 and during 2021 that is now being reflected in substantial inventories of unsold goods that weakens replacement demand. Meanwhile, a slackening of internet buying from its pandemic peak, has softened trailer movements of packaged goods by rail.”

Through September, total U.S. rail carloads—at 9,019,302—eked out a 0.1% increase, or 9,791 carloads, and intermodal units—at 10,259,554—were off 5.1%, or 552,271 units.