U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes are down, for week of April 8

United States rail carload andintermodalvolumes saw annual declines, for the week of April 8, according to data issued this week by theAssociation of American Railroads (AAR).

Rail carloads—at 225,669—were down 4.6% annually, trailing the weeks ending April 1 and March 25, at 233,413 and 236,256, respectively.

AAR said that four of the 10 carload commodity groups it tracks saw annual gains, including: motor vehicles and parts, up 977 carloads, to 14,331; petroleum and petroleum products, up 543 carloads, to 9,861; and metallic ores and metals, up 529 carloads, to 21,230. Commodity groups posting annual declines included: grain, down 4,158 carloads, to 20,105; coal, down 3,655 carloads, to 62,070; and chemicals, down 3,615 carloads, to 31,525.

Intermodal trailers and containers—at 225,667 units—were down 17.0% annually, trailing the weeks ending April 1 and March 25, at 234,017 and 233,432, respectively.

Through the first 14 weeks of 2023, AAR reported that U.S rail carloads—at 3,219,161—were off 0.1% compared to the same period a year ago, and intermodal units—at 3,249,230—were down 10.8%, for the same period. Total U.S. rail carload and intermodal volume—at 6,468,391—were down 5.8%.

AAR President and CEOIan Jefferiesrecently toldLMthat when looking at U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes, current levels are about in the range, which was expected.

“The economy still has some uncertainty, with some economic indicators varied, and rail traffic reflects that,” he said. “There are some positives, with autos continuing to do well and up about 10% year-to-date. I recently read an article which said cars are moving off of lots at a quicker clip, because there is finally some inventory returning to auto dealers. Hopefully that is a sign it will continue, and I guess we will see how the consumer feels for the rest of the year when it comes to that.”

He also observed that some other commodities moved by rail are trudging along, with coal basically flat compared to a year ago, and grain is off a bit, with other agriculture-based products holding up well.

“It is kind of a mixed bag,” he said. “Intermodal is probably not where we want it to be. Volumes are off about 10% compared to where we were last year at this time. But, at the same time, I don’t think that’s an overwhelming surprise when we look at the decrease in imports and port traffic that is going on right now. We will see how the rest of the year goes. There are people out there who think it might be a bit of a bumpy ride, but that the economy is going to do OK by the time it is all said and done. We’ll be there ready to play our part with our customers and serving communities.”