(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on December 30.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was down during the holiday week ended December 27 in comparison with the corresponding holiday week last year the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Total volume was estimated at 21.4 billion ton-miles, down 20.1 percent from the same week last year.
Intermodal volume totaled 124,061 trailers or containers, down 21.8 percent from last year, with container volume down 21.5 percent and trailer volume down 23.2 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 200,365 cars for the week, down 21.7 percent from last year. Loadings were down 26.5 percent in the East and 18.9 percent in the West.
Only one of 19 carload commodity groups were up compared with last year. The commodity group termed All Other Carloads rose 15.6 percent. Those commodities reporting the most significant declines were metallic ores, down 55.8 percent; crushed stone, sand and gravel, down 50.3 percent; nonmetallic minerals, down 33.4 percent; lumber and wood products, down 49.9 percent; and metals and products, down 52.8 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 52 weeks of 2008 totaled 16,572,673 carloads, down 2.2 percent from 2007; 11,517,240 trailers or containers, off 4.2 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.73 trillion ton-miles, down 1.2 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended December 27 carload traffic totaled 39,999 cars, down 25.7 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 20,621 trailers or containers, down 35.5 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 52 weeks of 2008 on the Canadian railroads totaled 3,774,378 carloads, down 6.3 percent from last year, and 2,467,637 trailers and containers, up 1.4 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 52 weeks of 2008 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 20,347,051 carloads, down 3.0 percent from last year, and 13,984,877 trailers and containers, down 3.3 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that carload freight on the Mexican railroad Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) during the week ended December 27 totaled 6,138 cars, down 21.7 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 2,616 trailers or containers, down 5.9 percent from the 52nd week of 2007.
For the first 52 weeks of 2008, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 520,364 cars, down 7.9 percent from last year, and 260,399 trailers or containers, up 6.6 percent.
Carload freight on the Mexican railroad Ferrocarril Mexicano during the week ended December 27 totaled 7,922 cars, down 24.0 percent from last year. Ferromex reported intermodal volume of 1,541 trailers or containers, down 12.9 percent from the 52nd week of 2007.
For the first 52 weeks of 2008, Ferromax reported cumulative volume of 641,898 cars, up 3.1 percent from last year, and 147,070 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.