(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on June 13.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Both carload and intermodal freight were off on U.S. railroads during the week ended June 7 in comparison with the comparable week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Carload freight in the week totaled 323,985 cars, down 2.1 percent from last year. Volume was up 0.2 percent in the West but down 5.2 percent in the East.
Intermodal volume, which is not included in the carload data, totaled 236,384 trailers or containers, down 1.1 percent from a year ago. Trailer volume was up 1.5 percent while container traffic dropped 1.3 percent. This is the fifth consecutive week trailer volume was above year-ago levels.
Total volume was estimated at 33.6 billion ton-miles, virtually the same as during the 23rd week of 2007.
Six of 19 carload commodities registered gains from a year ago with nonmetallic minerals up 8.1 percent, food and food products up 6.3 percent and coal up 2.5 percent… Among commodities reporting declines were metallic ores, 19.4 percent; motor vehicles and equipment, 18.6 percent; and lumber and wood products, 16.5 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 23 weeks of 2008 totaled 7,480,560 carloads, up 0.8 percent from 2007; 5,074,370 trailers or containers, down 3.0 percent; and total volume of an estimated 773.7 billion ton-miles, up 2.1 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended June 7 carload traffic totaled 75,456 cars, down 3.0 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 49,081 trailers or containers, up 7.6 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 23 weeks of 2008 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,712,801 carloads, down 3.7 percent from last year, and 1,082,082 trailers and containers, an increase of 4.7 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 23 weeks of 2008 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 9,193,361 carloads, down 0.1 percent from last year, and 6,156,452 trailers and containers, a 1.7 percent decrease from last year.
The AAR also reported that carload freight on the Mexican railroad Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) during the week ended June 7 totaled 11,556 cars, up 2.3 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 4,741 trailers or containers, down 2.8 percent from the 23rd week of 2007.
For the first 23 weeks of 2008, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 241,237 cars, down 3.5 percent from last year, and 109,376 trailers or containers, up 10.8 percent.
Railroads reporting to AAR account for 89 percent of U.S. carload freight and 98 percent of rail intermodal volume. When the U.S. operations of Canadian railroads are included, the figures increase to 96 percent and 100 percent. The Canadian railroads reporting to the AAR account for 91 percent of Canadian rail traffic. Railroads provide more than 40 percent of U.S. intercity freight transportation, more than any other mode, and rail traffic figures are regarded as an important economic indicator.