(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on January 3.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Although down from 2006’s record-setting levels, freight traffic on U.S. railroads was the second highest on record, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Full-year 2007 U.S. carloads totaled 16,952,288, down 2.5 percent (426,598 carloads) from 2006. Full-year 2007 U.S. intermodal loadings were 12,026,660 trailers and containers, down 2.1 percent (255,561 units) from 2006. Total volume for the year was estimated at 1.76 trillion ton-miles, although down 1.0 percent from last year.
“It’s not surprising that U.S. rail traffic in 2007 was down from the record-setting level of 2006, given the well-documented problems the U.S. economy has been facing,” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “Based on combined carloads and intermodal units, though, 2007 was actually the second highest-volume year in history for U.S. freight railroads, behind only 2006.”
For just the month of December, U.S. freight railroads originated 1,234,439 carloads of freight, down 2.6 percent (32,325 carloads) from a year ago, and 867,386 intermodal trailers and containers, down 2.5 percent (21,786 units) from December 2006. For the fourth quarter of 2007, U.S. rail carloadings were down 85 carloads (0.0 percent) to 4,244,410 carloads, while intermodal traffic was down 2.5 percent (76,719 units) to 3,002,027 trailers and containers.
U.S. railroads originated more carloads of coal in 2007 than any other single commodity: the 7,213,955 coal carloads in 2007 were equal to 43 percent of total carloads and were down 0.9 percent (67,019 carloads) from 2006. Carloads of coal fell 2.9 percent (15,775 carloads) in December 2007 to 536,718 carloads, and were up 0.1 percent (2,543 carloads) in the fourth quarter to 1,825,729 carloads.
Carloads of chemicals rose 4.2 percent (4,759 carloads) in December; rose 5.1 percent (18,745 carloads) in the fourth quarter; and rose 3.3 percent (50,510 carloads) for the full year. Ethanol is included in this category. In 2007, total chemical carloads of 1,569,735 accounted for 9 percent of total non-intermodal U.S. rail carloadings, second only to coal.
Grain carloads rose 0.1 percent (114 carloads) in December, rose 10.9 percent (32,568 carloads) in the fourth quarter, and were flat for the year (up 110 carloads to 1,178,601 carloads) for all of 2007. Grain accounted for 7 percent of U.S. rail carloads in 2007, ahead of crushed stone, sand, and gravel (1,078,226 carloads) and motor vehicles and equipment (1,033,544 carloads).
All told, of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR, seven saw U.S. carload gains in December, seven saw gains in the fourth quarter, and three saw gains over 2007 for the full year.
“The difficulties in the housing and automotive sectors in 2007 were clearly reflected in reduced rail carloadings in several commodity categories,” Rockey said. “For example, carloads of lumber and wood products on U.S. railroads were down 53,196 for the year, while carloads of motor vehicle and parts were 58,201 lower than in 2006. Carloads of crushed stone, sand, and gravel (much of which is construction-related) were down nearly 97,721, and carloads of metals and metal products — including things like steel for the auto and appliance industries — were down 56,781 carloads in 2007.”
Canadian rail carload traffic, which includes the U.S. operations of Canadian railroads, was up 1.3 percent (3,632 carloads) in December 2007 to 280,154 units. For the fourth quarter of 2007, Canadian carloads were up 5.0 percent (47,701 carloads) to 1,008,234. The increase in Canadian traffic in December and the fourth quarter is due mainly to much higher metallic ore traffic.
For all of 2007, Canadian railroads originated 4,047,564 carloads, up 0.5 percent (19,176 carloads). In 2007, chemicals, metallic ores, grain, coal, and motor vehicles and equipment were the five highest-volume commodities carried in carload service by Canadian railroads.
Canadian intermodal traffic rose 2.6 percent (4,299 units) in December 2007 to 171,627 units; rose 5.5 percent (32,719 units) in the fourth quarter to 627,194 units; and rose 3.5 percent (82,289 units) for the full year to 2,435,955 trailers and containers.
Carloads carried on Kansas City Southern dé Mexico (formerly Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana – TFM), a major Mexican railroad, were down 10.6 percent (4,765 carloads) in December 2007 to 39,989 carloads, while intermodal units carried of 17,379 were up 11.4 percent (1,775 trailers and containers). For the full year 2007, carloads carried on KCSM of 564,884 were down 4.6 percent (27,141 carloads), while intermodal traffic rose 14.5 percent (30,785 units) to 243,205 trailers and containers.
For just the week ended December 29, 2007, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 255,560 carloads, down 4.8 percent (12,957 carloads) from the corresponding week in 2006, with loadings down 7.1 percent in the East and down 3.5 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 158,726 trailers and containers, down 8.2 percent (14,265 units); and total volume of an estimated 26.9 billion ton-miles, down 3.9 percent from the equivalent week last year. The last week of the year is always one of the lowest-volume weeks of the year for U.S. freight railroads.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended December 29, the AAR reported volume of 53,935 carloads, down 5.0 percent (2,828 carloads) from the previous year, and 32,004 trailers and containers, up 4.3 percent (1,324 units) from the corresponding week in 2006.
Combined cumulative rail volume for 2007 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 20,999,852 carloads, down 1.9 percent (407,422 carloads) from 2006, and 14,462,615 trailers and containers, down 1.2 percent (173,272 units) from 2006.