(The Association of American Railroads posted the following release on its website on April 12.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was down from last year during the week ended April 7, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today. This year’s week included Good Friday, which is a holiday on most U.S. railroads. The comparison week from last year did not include the holiday.
Intermodal volume totaled 218,992 trailers or containers, down 5.6 percent from last year, with container volume off 2.3 percent and trailer volume down 15.5 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 319,178 cars for the week, down 4.9 percent from last year. Loadings were down 4.4 percent in the West and 5.4 percent in the East. Total volume was estimated at 32.8 billion ton-miles, down 3.0 percent from last year.
Four of 19 carload commodity groups registered gains from last year with coke up 8.2 percent and nonmetallic minerals up 3.5 percent. On the negative side, metallic ores were down 33.9 percent while lumber and wood products were off 23.2 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 14 weeks of 2007 totaled 4,445,054 carloads, down 4.9 percent from 2006; 3,158,031 trailers or containers, off 0.3 percent; and total volume of an estimated 452.0 billion ton-miles, down 3.5 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended April 7 carload traffic totaled 80,995 cars, up 0.6 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 46,374 trailers or containers, also up 0.6 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 14 weeks of 2007 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,062,784 carloads, down 2.5 percent from last year, and 614,380 trailers and containers, up 1.2 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 14 weeks of 2007 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 5,507,838 carloads, down 4.4 percent from last year, and 3,772,411 trailers and containers, down less than 0.1 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that carload freight on the Mexican railroad Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) during the week ended April 7 totaled 10,871 cars, down 3.2 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 3,470 trailers or containers, down 2.3 percent from the 14th week of 2006.
For the first 14 weeks of 2007, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 149,287 cars, down 6.2 percent from last year, and 56,762 trailers or containers, up 6.5 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.