WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic remains ahead of the pandemic-depressed levels of 2020, while the most recent week’s traffic shows a slight decline from the preceding seven-day period.
Statistics from the Association of American Railroads show U.S. railroads moved a total of 514,112 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending June 19, a 12.5% increase over the same week in 2020. Those figures represent a 2.9% drop from the previous week, when the carload-intermodal total was 529,635 units.
The latest figures include 232,144 carloads, a 15.1% increase over the corresponding week in 2020, and 281,968 trailers and containers, a 10.4% increase. Through 24 weeks of 2021, carload traffic is up 8.6% over the same period in 2020, while intermodal traffic is up 18.2%, for a total volume increase of 13.7%
North American totals, based on reports from 12 U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, include 329,907 carloads, up 11.3% from the corresponding week in 2020, and 369,258 intermodal units, up 10%, for a total of 699,165 carloads and intermodal units, a 10.6% increase. Total North American traffic is up 12.1% for the year to date.
Comparing 2021 to 2020 is almost meaningless. It would be better to include (or replace) with a column for 2019.
With oil prices expected to spike between September and December, this will cause a rise in frac oil shipments around the same period or farther into 2022. Look for more rail shipments out of North Dakota and Oklahoma during this time frame with oil and frac sand.