(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on July 12.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was down slightly in compared to last year during the week ended July 7, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today. Both weeks included the July 4th holiday.
Total volume was estimated at 29.6 billion ton-miles, down 2.3 percent from the corresponding week last year.
Intermodal volume totaled 192,516 trailers or containers, down 0.7 percent from last year, with container volume up 1.4 percent and trailer volume down 7.9 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 282,888 cars for the week, down 3.6 percent from last year. Loadings were down 3.3 percent in the East and 3.9 percent in the West.
Cumulative volume for the first 27 weeks of 2007 totaled 8,714,282 carloads, down 4.1 percent from 2006; 6,144,891 trailers or containers, off 1.3 percent; and total volume of an estimated 887.5 billion ton-miles, down 2.8 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended July 7 carload traffic totaled 72,130 cars, down 1.0 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 43,828 trailers or containers, up 3.1 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 27 weeks of 2007 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,104,005 carloads, down 0.7 percent from last year, and 1,221,308 trailers and containers, up 1.7 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 27 weeks of 2007 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 10,818,287 carloads, down 3.4 percent from last year, and 7,366,199 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 7 totaled 10,433 cars, down 8.3 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 4,007 trailers or containers, up 17.7 percent from the 27th week of 2006.
For the first 27 weeks of 2007, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 293,451 cars, down 4.8 percent from last year, and 116,513 trailers or containers, up 10.6 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.