US railroads reports 3% decline in March traffic due to lower grain, petroleum volume
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported US rail traffic down 3% Y/Y to 2,507,684 carloads and intermodal units for the month of March 2022.

9 of the 20 carload commodity categories saw carloads gains during the month, including chemicals, up 11.7%; coal, up 5.4%; and crushed stone, sand & gravel, up 8.5%.

On the other side, grain recorded a decline of 10.8% carloads; and petroleum & petroleum products, down 16.5%.
âMarch was another mixed month for U.S. rail volumes,â said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. âIt was the best month ever for carloads of chemicals while carloads of crushed stone and sand, food products, lumber and motor vehicles were higher than theyâve been in months. On the other hand, carloads of grain, petroleum products and paper products, among others, were down in March. These conflicting trends reflect an economy with a good deal of directional uncertainty; uncertainty that needs resolution before its full potential can be realized.â
For the week ending Apr. 2, 2022, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 502,194 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.7% Y/Y.
It included 231,963 carloads, up 0.6%, for the week; and intermodal volume of 270,231 containers and trailers, down 5.4% Y/Y. Graphic Source: Association of American Railroads
North American rail volume for the week on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 333,927 carloads, up 2.8%; 359,728 intermodal units, down 3.5% Y/Y.
That shows Canadian railroads traffic of 80,499 carloads for the week, up 3.4% while intermodal units volume declined 1.7% Y/Y. Mexican railroads recorded 32% increase in carloads and 28.6% in intermodal units.

Related tickers: Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A, NYSE:BRK.B), Canadian Pacific (NYSE:CNI), CSX Corporation (CSX), Union Pacific (UNP), Norfolk Southern (NSC), and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP,BIPC)
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