WASHINGTON — U.S. freight rail traffic remains below 2021 levels both for the week and the year to date, according to the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads.
For the week ending Aug. 6, the total traffic of 496,526 carloads and intermodal units represented a 2.6% decline from the corresponding week in 2021. This included 230,573 carloads, down 1.6%, and 265,953 containers and trailers, down 3.4%. Only four of 10 carload categories tracked by the AAR showed increases, led by grain, up 10%.
Through 31 weeks of 2022, carload traffic is down 0.1%, intermodal traffic is down 5.7%, and overall traffic shows a decline of 3.2%, with a weekly average of 493,870 carloads and intermodal units.
North American totals for the week, for 12 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, include 327,633 carloads, down 0.1% from the same week in 2021; 354 intermodal units, a decline of 1.2%, and total traffic of 682,600 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.7%. Year-to-date total traffic is down 3%.
The readers of these reports do not get the full picture. Where are the 2020 and 2019 figures?