(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on October 23.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Both carload and intermodal volumes on the nation’s railroad were off during the week ended October 18 in comparison with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Total volume was estimated at 34.5 billion ton-miles, down 1.4 percent from the comparable week last year.
Carload freight in the week totaled 326,374 cars, off 2.4 percent from last year. Volume was off 0.1 percent in the West and 5.5 percent in the East.
Intermodal volume, which is not included in the carload data, totaled 235,750 trailers or containers, down 2.8 percent from a year ago. Trailer volume was off 7.8 percent while container traffic declined 1.4 percent.
Among carload commodity groups showing gains from last year, metallic ores rose 11.7 percent while coal gained 5.3 percent. Among commodities registering declines were lumber and wood products, off 20.7 percent; automotive traffic, down 19.3 percent; and metals, off 20.8 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 42 weeks of 2008 totaled 13,671,118 carloads, down 0.3 percent from 2007; 9,461,941 trailers or containers, down 3.0 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.42 trillion ton-miles, up 0.8 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended October 18 carload traffic totaled 73,055 cars, down 10.8 percent from last year, while intermodal volume totaled 47,195 trailers or containers, down 9.0 percent from 2007.
Cumulative originations for the first 42 weeks of 2008 on the Canadian railroads totaled 3,118,370 carloads, down 4.5 percent from last year, and 2,031,603 trailers and containers, an increase of 3.9 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 42 weeks of 2008 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 16,789,488 carloads, down 1.1 percent from last year, and 11,493,544 trailers and containers, a 1.8 percent decrease from last year.
Also for the week ended October 18, Mexico’s two reporting railroads showed the following results:
Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM), 10,114 total carloads, down 11.8 percent from last year, and 6,483 trailers or containers, up 28.5 percent.
Ferrocarril Mexicano (Ferromex), 11,108 total carloads, up 7.8 percent from last year, and 2,972 trailers or containers, down 1.7 percent.
For the first 42 weeks of 2008, Mexico’s railroads reported the following cumulative totals:
KCSM, 431,519 total carloads, down 5.8 percent from the first 42 weeks of 2007, and 210,204 trailers or containers, up 8.6 percent.
Ferromex, 515,699 total carloads, up 1.6 percent from last year and 122,234 trailers or containers, down 0.2 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.