(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on November 13.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight volume on U.S. railroads trailed year ago totals during the week ended November 8, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Carload freight for the week totaled 314,433 cars, down 8.4 percent from last year, with volume off 8.1 percent in the West and 8.7 percent in the East. Intermodal volume, which is not included in the carload data, totaled 228,632 trailers or containers, down 6.3 percent from last year. Container volume was off 4.9 percent while trailer traffic fell 11.2 percent. Total volume was estimated at 33.5 billion ton-miles, down 7.2 percent from the comparable week last year.
Sixteen of 19 carload commodity groups were down from a year ago, with waste and scrap down 40.0 percent, motor vehicles down 30.8 percent and metals dropping 30.6 percent. Of the three commodities showing an increase, the “catch all” category of all other carloads rose the most, 31.4 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 45 weeks of 2008 totaled 14,630,860 carloads, down 0.7 percent from 2007; 10,150,762 trailers or containers, down 3.1 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.52 trillion ton-miles, up 0.4 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended November 8 carload traffic totaled 71,605 cars, down 10.3 percent from last year, while intermodal volume totaled 47,782 trailers or containers, down 8.4 percent from 2007.
Cumulative originations for the first 45 weeks of 2008 on the Canadian railroads totaled 3,337,327 carloads, down 4.9 percent from last year, and 2,179,864 trailers and containers, an increase of 3.2 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 45 weeks of 2008 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 17,968,187 carloads, down 1.5 percent from last year, and 12,330,626 trailers and containers, a 2.1 percent decrease from last year.
Also for the week ended November 8, Mexico’s two reporting railroads showed the following results:
Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM), 9,665 total carloads, down 14.1 percent from last year, and 5,981 trailers or containers, up 7.6 percent.
Ferrocarril Mexicano (Ferromex), 12,363 total carloads, up 11.5 percent from last year, and 2,439 trailers or containers, down 2.0 percent.
For the first 45 weeks of 2008, Mexico’s railroads reported the following cumulative totals:
KCSM, 460,192 total carloads, down 6.2 percent from the first 45 weeks of 2007, and 228,543 trailers or containers, up 9.2 percent.
Ferromex, 551,559 total carloads, up 0.7 percent from last year and 130,448 trailers or containers, down 0.6 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.