U.S. rail carloads and intermodal units are down, for week ending May 21, reports AAR

United States rail carload and intermodal volumes, for the week ending May 21, saw annual declines, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Rail carloads—at 233,244—saw a 3.7% annual decline, topping the weeks ending May 14 and May 7, at 230,128 and 231,737, respectively.

AAR said that four of the 10 carload commodity groups it tracks saw annual gains, including: coal, up 966 carloads, to 65,609; chemicals, up 784 carloads, to 33,943; and forest products, up 171 carloads, to 10,300. Commodity groups posting annual declines included grain, down 3,515 carloads, to 21,797; miscellaneous carloads, down 3,023 carloads, to 8,129; and metallic ores and metals, down 1,932 carloads, to 21,664.

Intermodal containers and trailers—at 273,732 units—fell 4.5% annually, trailing the week ending May 14, at 274,992 and topping the week ending May 7, at 273,190.

Through the first 20 weeks of 2022, U.S. rail carloads—at 4,602,072—eked out a 0.4% annual gain, and intermodal units—at 5,274,963—are off 6.8% annually.