North American rail freight by commodity type 2020-2022
Coal was the leading commodity hauled by rail across the North American market, reaching over 3.8 million carloads in 2022. This was an increase of close to 3.3 percent compared to 2021, when the coal industry was continuously affected by the economic downturn, downward slope in demand, and manufacturing standstill caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This recovery was visible across other commodity types: the volume of motor vehicles and parts hauled across the region rose by some 6.1 percent between 2021 and 2022. Chemicals were the second largest commodity transported by rail across North America.
