(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on July 19.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was down during the week ended July 14 in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Total volume was estimated at 32.5 billion ton-miles, down 4.1 percent from the same week last year.
Intermodal volume totaled 238,625 trailers or containers, down 3.0 percent from last year, with container volume virtually the same as last year and trailer volume down 13.8 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 310,769 cars for the week, down 5.5 percent from last year. Loadings were down 4.1 percent in the East and 6.5 percent in the West. Weather-related problems continued to affect railroads in some parts of the country.
Increased volume was reported in 5 of 19 carload commodity groups, with petroleum products up 9.4 percent from last year, motor vehicles up 7.5 percent and food products up 5.8 percent. On the negative side, lumber and wood products were off 24.0 percent; farm products other than grain were down 22.8 percent; and stone, clay and glass products declined 17.7 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 28 weeks of 2007 totaled 9,025,051 carloads, down 4.1 percent from 2006; 6,383,516 trailers or containers, off 1.3 percent; and total volume of an estimated 920.0 billion ton-miles, down 2.9 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended July 14 carload traffic totaled 73,699 cars, down 0.8 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 48,706 trailers or containers, up 4.3 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 28 weeks of 2007 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,177,704 carloads, down 0.7 percent from last year, and 1,270,014 trailers and containers, up 1.8 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 28 weeks of 2007 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 11,202,755 carloads, down 3.5 percent from last year, and 7,653,530 trailers and containers, down 0.8 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 July 14 totaled 10,735 cars, up 18.2 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 3,986 trailers or containers, up 27.8 percent from the 28th week of 2006.
For the first 28 weeks of 2007, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 304,186 cars, down 4.2 percent from last year, and 120,499 trailers or containers, up 11.1 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.