WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic reached its highest level in 28 months in October, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, while weekly traffic figures ended their run of increases over 2022 levels.
The month saw railroads originate just under 2 million carloads and intermodal units — 921,591 carloads, down 0.3% from October 2022, and 1,075731 containers and trailers, up 2.2% from the same month a year ago. The overall figure of 1,997,322 carloads and intermodal units represented a 1% increase; the total volume was the most since June 2021, said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “Part of that relates to intermodal seasonality and concerns over Panama Canal capacity,” Gray said, “but part of it also reflects an economy that remains resilient as reflected by recent strong GDP data.”
Traffic for the year to date, through 43 weeks of 2023, is down 3.8% compared to a year ago. That includes a 0.2% increase in carload traffic and a 7.2% drop in intermodal volume.
Weekly traffic down 1.2%
A drop in carload traffic contributed to the end of a six-week streak in which weekly U.S. rail traffic figures exceeded those for the same weeks in 2022.
For the week ending Oct. 28, total traffic was 499,389 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.2%. That included 227,575 carloads, a drop of 4.2% from the corresponding week in 2022, and 271,814 intermodal units, up 1.5%.
North American volume for the week, from 10 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, included 692,996 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.7% from the same week a year ago. That figure includes 339,642 carloads, down 2.6%, and 353,354 intermodal units, down 1.7%. Year-to-date North American traffic is down 3.5% compared to the first 43 weeks of 2022.
