During the week ended 12 March, chemical railcar traffic in North America showed signs of nearing the first-half plateau, according to data of the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
The four-week moving average (4wma) totaled 47,504 loadings, a sequential increase of 0.21%, versus 1.20% for the period ended 5 March. Compared with previous years, the figure increased 17.8% from 2021 and 1.7% from 2020.
Weekly volume totaled 47,928 carloads, down 1.4% from the previous week, according to data released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). For the year to date, chemical railcar traffic in North America is up 5.8%.
Chemical railcar traffic in the US contributed 35,933 carloads to the weekly total, up 19.9% year on year (YOY) and up 3.1% from the previous week. For the year to date, US chemical railcar traffic is up 10.1%.
Canadian chemical rail traffic totaled 11,140 carloads, down 9.5% YOY and down 12.3% from the previous week. For the year to date, Canadian chemical railcar traffic is down 5.4%. Chemical railcar traffic in Mexico totaled 855 carloads, a year-on-year increase of 25.0% and a sequential decrease of 17.5%. For the year to date, Mexican chemical railcar traffic is up 6.2%.
As per MRC, North American weekly chemical railcar traffic rose 11.6% year on year, led by the US where loadings rose 22.1% from depressed levels during last year’s US Gulf Coast winter storm. For the first eight weeks of 2022 ended 26 February, North American chemical railcar traffic was up 4.0% year on year to 372,286 railcar loadings.
We remind, U.S. President Joe Biden was expected to announce a ban on Russian oil and other energy imports on Tuesday in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine. The White House said Biden was scheduled to announce actions at 10:45 a.m. (1545 GMT) on Tuesday against Russia over Ukraine, but did not specifically mention oil imports. Oil prices jumped on the news, with Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 for May climbing by 5.4% to USD129.91 a bbl by 1345 GMT.
mrchub.com