WASHINGTON, D.C. — Intermodal traffic on U.S. railroads reached its highest level in almost two years during the week ended August 24, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said on August 29.
Intermodal volume of 197,938 trailers and containers was 7.4 percent above the total reported in the comparable week last year and was the highest since the week ended October 28, 2000.
Even though 14 of 19 commodity groups showed increases from last year, the total volume of carload freight was off by 0.2 percent. Carload volume, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 346,323 cars, with loadings up 2.9 percent in the East but down 2.6 percent in the West. Total volume for the week was estimated at 29.7 billion ton-miles, down 0.3 percent from the comparable week last year.
The decline in carload volume was attributed to a 16.5 percent drop in loadings of primary forest products and a 5.2 percent decline in coal volume. Sharp increases were reported in loadings of metallic ores up 22.5 percent, and both waste and scrap materials and pulp, paper and allied products gaining 8.2 percent.
The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first 34 weeks of 2002: 11,120,466 carloads, down 1.2 percent from last year; intermodal volume of 6,051,240 trailers and containers, up 5.0 percent; and total volume of an estimated 953.1 billion ton?miles, down 0.4 percent from last year’s first 34 weeks.
Railroads reporting to AAR account for 90 percent of U.S. carload freight and 97 percent of rail intermodal volume. When the U.S. operations of Canadian railroads are included, the figures increase to 96 percent and 99 percent. Railroads provide more than 40 percent of the nation’s intercity freight transportation, more than any other mode, and rail traffic figures are regarded as an important economic indicator.
Both intermodal and carload traffic were up on Canadian railroads during the week ended August 24. Intermodal traffic totaled 42,173 trailers and containers, up 19.2 percent from last year. Carload volume of 61,614 cars was up 3.3 percent from the comparable week last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 34 weeks of 2002 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,021,514 carloads, down 3.0 percent from last year, and 1,281,510 trailers and containers, up 8.9 percent from year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 34 weeks of 2002 on 16 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 13,141,980 carloads, down 1.5 percent from last year and 7,332,750 trailers and containers, up 5.7 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended August 24 totaled 11,064 cars originated or received from connecting lines, up 10.9 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 3,777 trailers or containers, down 21.7 percent from the 34th week of 2001. For the first 34 weeks of 2002, TFM reported cumulative volume of 352,549 cars, down 1.0 percent from last year, and 124,240 trailers or containers, up 6.2 percent.