WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic remains about 3% below 2022 levels in the latest weekly statistics from the Association of American Railroads, maintaining a trend in recent weeks.
For the week ending July 22, total U.S. rail volume was 473,736 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.2% decline from the same week a year earlier. That figure included 222,454 carloads, down 1.3%, and 251,282 containers and trailers, down 4.8%.
While traffic has been down every week so far in 2023 compared to last year, the level of decline has been more moderate recently. In the five weeks before this, beginning with the week ending June 17, traffic has been down 3%, 3.2%, 3.2%, 5.1%, and 2.4% compared to the corresponding week in 2022.
For the year to date, through 29 weeks of 2023, traffic is down 5.1% compared to the same period in 2022. That includes a 0.4% increase in carload traffic and 9.8% drop in intermodal traffic.
North American totals for the week, from 12 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, include 330,062 carloads, up 0.4%, and 331,880 intermodal units, down 6.3%. The combined figure of 661,942 carloads and intermodal units is down 3.0%. Through 29 weeks, North American rail volume is down 4.2% compared to the same period in 2022.
