North American rail traffic down 3% for the week ending April 22

The Association of American Railroads or AAR reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending April 22. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 480,457 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.5% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending April 22 were 240,584 carloads, up 5.1% compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 239,873 containers and trailers, down 10.8% compared to 2022. Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included coal, up 10,985 carloads, to 68,879; motor vehicles and parts, up 1,396 carloads, to 14,643; and metallic ores and metals, up 812 carloads, to 23,062. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 included grain, down 1,034 carloads, to 22,013; forest products, down 886 carloads, to 8,875; and chemicals, down 505 carloads, to 34,298. North American rail volume for the week ending April 22, , on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 346,012 carloads, up 5% compared with the same week last year, and 320,991 intermodal units, down 10.3% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 667,003 carloads and intermodal units, down 3%. Publicly traded companies in the space include CSX (CSX), Canadian National (CNI), Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP), Kansas City Southern (KSU), Norfolk Southern (NSC), Union Pacific (UNP), Trinity Industries (TRN), Greenbrier (GBX), FreightCar America (RAIL) and Wabtec (WAB). Reference Link