(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on March 27.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was off during the week ended March 22 in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today. Volume this year was affected by severe weather and flooding in some parts of the country.
Carload freight totaled 323,536 cars, down 3.3 percent from last year. Volume was off 1.6 percent in the West and down 5.4 percent in the East.
Intermodal volume, which is not included in the carload data, totaled 210,914 trailers or containers, down 5.2 percent from a year ago. Container volume was off 4.0 percent while trailer volume was down 9.2 percent.
Total volume was estimated at 33.5 billion ton-miles, down 2.3 percent from the 12th week of 2007.
Five of 19 carload commodities registered gains from a year ago with metallic ores jumping 70.2 percent, grain rising 10.7 percent and coal up 1.6 percent. On the negative side, motor vehicles and equipment fell 23.3 percent; lumber and wood products were down 20.6 percent; and crushed stone, sand and gravel declined 18.6 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 12 weeks of 2008 totaled 3,840,033 carloads, up 0.8 percent from 2007; 2,596,368 trailers or containers, down 4.2 percent; and total volume of an estimated 397.1 billion ton-miles, up 1.9 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended March 22 carload traffic totaled 75,108 cars, down 6.7 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 45,897 trailers or containers, down 7.1 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 12 weeks of 2008 on the Canadian railroads totaled 874,798 carloads, down 2.2 percent from last year, and 544,306 trailers and containers, an increase of 4.9 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 12 weeks of 2008 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 4,714,831 carloads, up 0.2 percent from last year, and 3,140,674 trailers and containers, a decline of 2.7 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 March 12 totaled 8,920 cars, off 19.9 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 3,786 trailers or containers, down 6.8 percent from the 12th week of 2007.
For the first 12 weeks of 2008, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 123,390 cars, down 3.2 percent from last year, and 55,778 trailers or containers, up 11.5 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.