(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on August 28.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Overall traffic was down slightly on U.S. railroads during the week ended August 23 in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Total volume was estimated 35.1 billion ton-miles, up 0.3 percent from the comparable week last year.
Carload freight in the week totaled 334,821 cars, dropping 0.6 percent from last year. Volume was up 1.3 percent in the West but down 3.3 percent in the East.
Intermodal volume, which is not included in the carload data, totaled 230,437 trailers or containers, slipping 3.1 percent from a year ago. Trailer volume was off 2.0 percent while container traffic dropped 3.5 percent.
Seven of 19 carload commodities were up from a year ago. Metallic ores lead the pack up 47.9 percent from last year while waste & scrap materials weighed in with a gain of 12.1 percent and the “all other carloads” category posted as 15.8 percent gain. On the negative side, coke posted a decline of 34.2 percent, motor vehicles and equipment were down 31.4 percent, and lumber and wood products fell 21.0 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 34 weeks of 2008 totaled 11,056,960 carloads, up 0.3 percent from 2007; 7,588,231 trailers or containers, down 2.9 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.146 trillion ton-miles, up 1.5 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended August 23 carload traffic totaled 72,246 cars, down 5.9 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 52,000 trailers or containers, up 4.7 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 34 weeks of 2008 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,519,975 carloads, down 4.2 percent from last year, and 1,626,106 trailers and containers, an increase of 4.1 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 34 weeks of 2008 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 13,576,935 carloads, down 0.6 percent from last year, and 9,214,337 trailers and containers, a 1.8 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 August 23 totaled 10,110 cars, down 8.9 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 5,355 trailers or containers, up 5.6 percent from the 34th week of 2007.
For the first 34 weeks of 2008, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 354,490 cars, down 3.6 percent from last year, and 164,131 trailers or containers, up 8.4 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.