(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on November 8.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. railroads originated 1,686,928 carloads of freight in October 2007, down 5,109 carloads (0.3 percent) from October 2006. U.S. railroads also originated 1,210,127 intermodal units in October 2007, a decrease of 46,775 trailers and containers (3.7 percent) from October 2006, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Six of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in October 2007 compared to October 2006.
Commodities showing carload gains in October 2007 included grain (up 17,137 carloads, or 14.2 percent, to 137,477 carloads); chemicals (up 5,760 carloads, or 4.0 percent, to 148,917 carloads); and metallic ores (up 2,171 carloads, or 6.1 percent, to 37,508 carloads). Commodities showing carload decreases in October 2007 included crushed stone and gravel (down 5,422 carloads, or 4.6 percent, to 111,539 carloads); pulp and paper (down 4,654 carloads, or 11.9 percent, to 34,448 carloads); and coke (down 4,472 carloads, or 14.2 percent, to 26,939 carloads). Carloads of coal, which account for approximately 42 percent of total U.S. carloads, were down 0.2 percent (1,210 carloads) in October to 711,653 carloads.
For the first 10 months of 2007, total U.S. rail carloads were down 431,622 carloads (2.9 percent) to 14,394,806 carloads. U.S. intermodal traffic, which consists of trailers and containers on flat cars and is not included in carload figures, was down 225,617 trailers and containers (2.2 percent) for the first 10 months of 2007 to 10,234,760 units.
“Grain carloadings over the past couple of months have been exceptionally high,” said AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “Grain producers are rushing to take advantage of record-high grain prices and strong export markets, and railroads are meeting the challenge.”
Canadian rail carload traffic was up 14,060 carloads (3.6 percent) in October 2007 to 403,246 carloads, and down 14,465 carloads (0.4 percent) for the year to date to 3,442,576 carloads. In October, carload gains for metallic ores (up 14,153 carloads, or 26.2 percent) and chemicals (up 5,350 carloads, or 7.6 percent), among other commodities, more than offset declines in carloads of lumber and wood products (down 2,830 carloads, or 14.4 percent) and grain (down 1,818 carloads, or 3.2 percent), among other commodities.
Canadian intermodal traffic was up 10,316 units (4.2 percent) in October 2007 compared with October 2006 to 253,285 units, and up 59,886 units (3.0 percent) for the first 10 months of 2007 to 2,062,046 units.
Carloads carried on Kansas City Southern dé Mexico, a major Mexican railroad, were down 4,977 carloads (8.2 percent) in October 2007 to 55,621 carloads, while intermodal units carried totaled 26,597 units, up 3,817 units (16.8 percent). For the year-to-date, KCSM carloads carried were down 4.4 percent (22,167 carloads), while intermodal units carried were up 14.2 percent (25,319 units).
For just the week ended November 3, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 338,508 carloads, up 0.5 percent (1,729 carloads) from the corresponding week in 2006, with loadings down 3.2 percent in the East and up 3.4 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 241,360 trailers and containers, down 3.5 percent (8,730 units) from last year; and total volume of an estimated 35.8 billion ton-miles, up 2.0 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended November 3, the AAR reported volume of 81,061 carloads, up 4.7 percent from last year; and 51,388 trailers and containers, up 6.6 percent from the corresponding week in 2006.
Combined cumulative rail volume for the first 44 weeks of 2007 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 17,837,382 carloads, down 2.4 percent (446,087 carloads) from last year, and 12,296,806 trailers and containers, down 1.3 percent (165,731 units) from 2006’s first 44 weeks.