WASHINGTON — U.S. freight rail traffic in April was down 6% from the same month in 2022, a slight improvement over the previous month, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads.
Traffic for the week ending April 29 was also down compared to a year earlier, showing a drop of 4.9%
The figures for the month included a 1.8% increase in carload traffic and a 12.7% decline in intermodal volume. The overall drop followed decreases of 3.2% in January, 5.2% in February and 7.6% in March, compared to the corresponding months a year earlier.
“Intermodal continues to suffer because of significantly lower trade activity at ports, weaker consumer demand, and continued excess retail inventories from the pandemic era,” AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray said in a press release. “These headwinds won’t last forever. When they dissipate, railroads will be prepared to meet their customers’ needs safely and reliably.”
Year-to-date traffic, through 17 weeks of 2023, is down 5.5% compared to 2023.
Weekly declines continue
Week-by-week traffic figures have been below 2022 levels since the beginning of 2023. The latest numbers include 481,960 carloads and intermodal units. That breaks down as 236,318 carloads, up 1.4% from the corresponding week in 2022, and 245,642 containers and trailers, down 10.3%.
North American volume for the week, from 12 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, included 343,589 carloads, up 2.8%, and 326,666 intermodal units, down 11.4%, compared to the same week in 2022. The total of 670,255 carloads and intermodal units is a 4.6% drop from the same week in 2022.
The year-to-date traffic for North America through 17 weeks is down 3.9 percent compared to 2022.
UP embargos, and stalled shipments to customers sure doesn’t help numbers climb into the plus side now, does it?