(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on August 16.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was off slightly during the week ended August 11 in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Total volume was estimated at 34.5 billion ton-miles, down 0.6 percent from the same week last year.
Intermodal volume totaled 237,298 trailers or containers, down 5.1 percent from last year, with container volume off 3.0 from last year and trailer volume down 12.1 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 328,821 cars for the week, down 2.2 percent from last year. Compared with last year, loadings were up 0.1 percent in the West but down 5.3 percent in the East.
Six of 19 carload commodity groups were up compared with last year. Loadings of coke were up 15.5 percent from last year while grain rose 9.7 percent and petroleum products climbed 4.5 percent. Among commodities reporting declines were lumber and wood products, down 15.9 percent and metallic ores, off 26.0 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 32 weeks of 2007 totaled 10,349,562 carloads, down 3.7 percent from 2006; 7,341,113 trailers or containers, off 1.6 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.06 trillion ton-miles, down 2.5 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended August 11 carload traffic totaled 74,341 cars, down 2.4 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 47,564 trailers or containers, up 6.4 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 32 weeks of 2007 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,485,676 carloads, down 0.6 percent from last year, and 1,463,462 trailers and containers, up 2.4 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 32 weeks of 2007 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 12,835,238 carloads, down 3.2 percent from last year, and 8,804,575 trailers and containers, down 0.9 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 August 11 totaled 10,829 cars, down 5.6 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 5,361 trailers or containers, up 26.0 percent from the 32nd week of 2006.
For the first 32 weeks of 2007, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 346,170 cars, down 3.9 percent from last year, and 140,992 trailers or containers, up 13.7 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.