(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on December 20.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was off during the week ended December 15 in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Carload freight totaled 322,571 cars, down 4.0 percent from last year. Volume was off 0.8 percent in the West and 4.5 percent in the East.
Intermodal volume, which is not included in the carload data, totaled 239,223, off 0.6 percent from a year ago. Container volume edged down by 0.4 percent while trailer volume fell by 1.4 percent.
Total volume was estimated at 34.0 billion ton-miles, a decline of 2.6 percent from the corresponding week last year.
Among individual carload commodities, petroleum products gained 3.3 percent while chemicals and grain mill products both rose 2.8 percent from last year. On the downside, coke was off 15.7 percent and primary forest products and farm products other than grain both fell 15.0 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 50 weeks of 2007 totaled 16,368,852 carloads, off 2.4 percent from 2006; 11,638,239 trailers or containers, down 2.0 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.69 trillion ton-miles, a 0.9 percent decline from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended December 15 carload traffic totaled 75,870 cars, up 1.9 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 48,635 trailers or containers, up 8.9 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 50 weeks of 2007 on the Canadian railroads totaled 3,914,953 carloads, up 0.5 percent from last year, and 2,357,617 trailers and containers, an increase of 3.5 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 50 weeks of 2007 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 20,283,805 carloads, down 1.9 percent from last year, and 13,995,856 trailers and containers, a 1.1 percent decrease from last year.
The AAR also reported that carload freight on the Mexican railroad Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) during the week ended December 15 totaled 10,369 cars, off 9.0 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 5,106 trailers or containers, up 11.7 percent from the 50th week of 2006.
For the first 50 weeks of 2007, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 546,967 cars, down 4.2 percent from last year, and 236,551 trailers or containers, up 14.7 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.