(The Association of American Railroads posted the following on its website on May 11.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Both carload freight and intermodal traffic were down from last year on U.S. railroads during the week ended May 5, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume totaled 233,695 trailers or containers, down 1.3 percent from last year, with container volume up 2.0 percent and trailer volume down 11.8 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 329,456 cars for the week, down 4.9 percent from last year. Loadings were down 5.3 percent in the West and 4.4 percent in the East. Total volume was estimated at 33.6 billion ton-miles, down 3.7 percent from last year.
Eight of 19 carload commodity groups registered gains from last year with petroleum products up 13.0 percent and farm products other than grain up 5.7 percent. On the negative side, loadings of lumber and wood products were down 21.1 percent, primary forest products were off 14.3 percent and coal was down 6.1 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 18 weeks of 2007 totaled 5,779,834 carloads, down 4.3 percent from 2006; 4,080,873 trailers or containers, off 0.9 percent; and total volume of an estimated 588.0 billion ton-miles, down 2.9 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended May 5 carload traffic totaled 83,619 cars, down 1.5 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 48,515 trailers or containers, up 5.8 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 18 weeks of 2007 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,388,021 carloads, down 1.8 percent from last year, and 806,459 trailers and containers, up 1.6 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 18 weeks of 2007 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 7,167,855 carloads, down 3.8 percent from last year, and 4,887,332 trailers and containers, down 0.5 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 May 5 totaled 9,756 cars, down 14.4 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 4,350 trailers or containers, up 13.2 percent from the 18th week of 2006.
For the first 18 weeks of 2007, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 193,414 cars, down 5.3 percent from last year, and 74,974 trailers or containers, up 11.3 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.