AAR Reports Mixed July 2023 Rail Volumes

August 07, 2023

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported mixed results for July 2023 rail volumes, indicating varied trends in the U.S. economy. During the three weeks not including Independence Day, the highest-volume intermodal weeks of the year were recorded, suggesting robust economic activity in certain sectors. However, there was an "exceptionally weak" period for grain carloadings, an essential part of the agricultural supply chain, possibly implying challenges in the farming sector.

Overall, U.S. Class I railroads hauled 875,660 carloads last month, a slight decrease of 0.6% from July 2022, and 967,553 containers and trailers, a substantial decrease of 5.5%. AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray noted that while these figures do suggest economic vibrancy in some areas, the decline in other sectors warrants caution.

Source: Railway Age

 Whenever we see a market development that surprises us (ie volume increases in trucking), we look at other independent datasets to see how they are reacting.

One of those is weekly intermodal activity, which was telling a similar story - it is breaking away from seasonal lulls.… https://t.co/U0uPCS736V— Craig Fuller 🛩🚛🚂⚓️ (@FreightAlley) August 5, 2023 

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