(The following report appeared on the Association of American Railroads website on June 14.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads during the week ended June 9 was down from the comparable week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume totaled 238,957 trailers or containers, down 3.2 percent from last year, with container volume off 0.6 percent and trailer volume down 11.9 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 330,767 cars for the week, down 5.6 percent from last year. Loadings were down 4.0 percent in the West and 7.8 percent in the East. Total volume was estimated at 33.5 billion ton-miles, down 5.1 percent from last year.
Cumulative volume for the first 23 weeks of 2007 totaled 7,418,108 carloads, down 4.4 percent from 2006; 5,229,787 trailers or containers, off 1.3 percent; and total volume of an estimated 754.9 billion ton-miles, down 3.1 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended June 9 carload traffic totaled 77,961 cars, up 1.6 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 45,650 trailers or containers, down 3.4 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 23 weeks of 2007 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,788,229 carloads, down 1.0 percent from last year, and 1,035,215 trailers and containers, up 1.3 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 23 weeks of 2007 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 9,206,337 carloads, down 3.8 percent from last year, and 6,265,002 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 June 2 totaled 11,295 cars, down 0.8 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 4,878 trailers or containers, up 18.4 percent from the 23rd week of 2006.
For the first 23 weeks of 2007, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 249,970 cars, down 4.6 percent from last year, and 98,688 trailers or containers, up 11.3 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.