(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on August 9.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was up slightly during the week ended August 4 in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Total volume was estimated at 35.4 billion ton-miles, up 2.3 percent from the same week last year.
Intermodal volume totaled 237,850 trailers or containers, down 1.6 percent from last year, with container volume up 1.7 from last year and trailer volume down 12.3 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 338,386 cars for the week, up 1.2 percent from last year. Compared with last year, loadings were up 3.2 percent in the West but down 1.5 percent in the East.
Eight of 19 carload commodity groups were up compared with last year. Loadings of coke were up 24.3 percent from last year while motor vehicles gained 15.4 percent and petroleum products rose 11.3 percent. Among commodities reporting declines were lumber and wood products, down 15.9 percent and metallic ores, down 11.6 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 31 weeks of 2007 totaled 10,020,741 carloads, down 3.8 percent from 2006; 7,103,815 trailers or containers, off 1.5 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.02 trillion ton-miles, down 2.5 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended August 4 carload traffic totaled 77,614 cars, down 2.9 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 47,371 trailers or containers, up 8.1 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 31 weeks of 2007 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,411,335 carloads, down 0.6 percent from last year, and 1,415,898 trailers and containers, up 2.3 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 31 weeks of 2007 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 12,432,076 carloads, down 3.2 percent from last year, and 8,519,713 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 August 4 totaled 10,713 cars, down 1.4 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 5,357 trailers or containers, up 35.2 percent from the 31st week of 2006.
For the first 31 weeks of 2007, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 335,341 cars, down 3.8 percent from last year, and 135,631 trailers or containers, up 13.3 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.