February 03, 2021 AAR: Carload Gain Lies Mainly in the Grain Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor In January, U.S. intermodal shipments and carloads of chemicals set new records, and grain was up 40%, its “biggest-ever” year-over-year increase, Association of American Railroads (AAR) Senior Vice President John T. Gray reported on Feb. 3. Total carloads (930,303) were the highest they have been in a year, he added—an encouraging sign. Excluding coal, carloads “actually grew year-over-year for the second straight month,” Gray said. They were up by 15,557, or 2.3%, in January 2021 from January 2020. Carloads excluding coal and grain, however, were down by 15,877, or 2.7%. This chart from Susquehanna Financial Group shows the trailing four-week average U.S. Class I rail carloadings (year-over-year percent change; weekly totals).