Rail Traffic for the Week Ending October 16, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 20, 2021 – The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending October 16, 2021.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 496,983 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.2 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending October 16 were 229,730 carloads, up 1.2 percent compared with the same week in 2020, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 267,253 containers and trailers, down 8.5 percent compared to 2020.

Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2020. They included metallic ores and metals, up 3,471 carloads, to 21,990; chemicals, up 3,000 carloads, to 32,721; and nonmetallic minerals, up 1,157 carloads, to 32,210. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2020 included coal, down 2,493 carloads, to 57,772; motor vehicles and parts, down 2,260 carloads, to 13,374; and miscellaneous carloads, down 798 carloads, to 9,601.

For the first 41 weeks of 2021, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 9,479,190 carloads, up 7.6 percent from the same point last year; and 11,346,182 intermodal units, up 8.9 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 41 weeks of 2021 was 20,825,372 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 8.3 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending October 16, 2021, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 328,884 carloads, up zero percent compared with the same week last year, and 350,015 intermodal units, down 9.4 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 678,899 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.1 percent. North American rail volume for the first 41 weeks of 2021 was 28,384,736 carloads and intermodal units, up 7.2 percent compared with 2020.

Canadian railroads reported 79,042 carloads for the week, down 1.7 percent, and 66,873 intermodal units, down 14.3 percent compared with the same week in 2020. For the first 41 weeks of 2021, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,078,439 carloads, containers and trailers, up 4.4 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 20,112 carloads for the week, down 5.8 percent compared with the same week last year, and 15,889 intermodal units, down 3.3 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 41 weeks of 2021 was 1,480,925 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 3.8 percent from the same point last year.

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For more information contact: AAR Media Relations at media@aar.org or 202-639-2345.

About AAR: The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the world’s leading railroad policy, research and technology organization focusing on the safety and productivity of rail carriers. AAR members include the major freight railroads of the U.S., Canada and Mexico, as well as Amtrak. Learn more at www.aar.org.