Manufacturers across nearly every industry have been plagued by transportation or other logistical issues over the course of the pandemic. Now there are some signs that these pressures may be abating for the US chemical industry. Rail traffic data released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reveals that railcar loads of chemicals recently hit an all-time high in the country.

John T. Gray, senior vice president for policy and economics with ARR, called March “the best month ever for carloads of chemicals” in an April 6 release announcing the figures. 35,582 cars were loaded with chemicals over the last 13 weeks, a record figure since the AAR started monitoring the 13-week moving average of chemical railcar loads in the mid-1980s, an analysis of the data by trade group American Chemistry Council (ACC) observed. 18,291 carloads of chemicals were logged in March, representing a 11.7% jump from the same month in 2021.