(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on May 17.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rail freight traffic on U.S. railroads remained below last year’s level during the week ended May 12, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today. Severe weather conditions — including massive flooding in some sections of the country — contributed to the decline.
Intermodal volume totaled 232,435 trailers or containers, down 3.9 percent from last year, with container volume down 1.1 percent and trailer volume down 13.6 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 320,620 cars for the week, down 7.0 percent from last year. Loadings were down 8.5 percent in the West and 5.1 percent in the East. Total volume was estimated at 32.7 billion ton-miles, down 5.8 percent from last year.
Cumulative volume for the first 19 weeks of 2007 totaled 6,100,454 carloads, down 4.4 percent from 2006; 4,313,308 trailers or containers, off 1.1 percent; and total volume of an estimated 620.7 billion ton-miles, down 3.1 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended May 12 carload traffic totaled 80,967 cars, down 0.7 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 48,165 trailers or containers, up 6.3 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 19 weeks of 2007 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,468,988 carloads, down 1.7 percent from last year, and 854,624 trailers and containers, up 1.9 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 19 weeks of 2007 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 7,569,442 carloads, down 3.9 percent from last year, and 5,167,932 trailers and containers, down 0.6 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 May 12 totaled 10,772 cars, down 9.2 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 4,449 trailers or containers, up 10.9 percent from the 19th week of 2006.
For the first 19 weeks of 2007, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 204,186 cars, down 5.5 percent from last year, and 79,423 trailers or containers, up 11.2 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.