(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on October 9.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was up slightly during the week ended October 4 in comparison with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Total volume was estimated at 35.7 billion ton-miles, up 0.8 percent from the comparable week last year.
Carload freight in the week totaled 336,457 cars, off 0.1 percent from last year. Volume was up 0.9 percent in the West but down 1.6 percent in the East.
Intermodal volume, which is not included in the carload data, totaled 244,828 trailers or containers, up 0.8 percent from a year ago. Trailer volume was off 3.5 percent while container traffic was up 2.0 percent.
Among carload commodity groups showing gains from last year, coal was up 7.7 percent while the “catch-all” all other category rose 45.4 percent. On the downside, automotive volume fell by 27.8 percent, nonmetallic minerals were off 13.5 percent and lumber and wood products declined 12.6 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 40 weeks of 2008 totaled 13,013,645 carloads, down 0.2 percent from 2007; 8,991,459 trailers or containers, down 3.0 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.35 trillion ton-miles, up 0.9 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended October 4 carload traffic totaled 75,227 cars, down 5.7 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 51,903 trailers or containers, down 1.3 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 40 weeks of 2008 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,969,952 carloads, down 4.4 percent from last year, and 1,934,203 trailers and containers, an increase of 4.0 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 40 weeks of 2008 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 15,983,597 carloads, down 1.0 percent from last year, and 10,925,662 trailers and containers, a 1.8 percent decrease from last year.
Effective with the start of the fourth quarter, two Mexican railroads are now reporting their data to the AAR with Ferrocarril Mexicano (Ferromex) joining Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM). This furthers a long-term goal of AAR to include in its weekly railroad traffic report more railroads from all three countries of North America.
For the week ended October 4, Ferromex reported total volume of 13,848 carloads, down 34.4 percent from last year, and intermodal volume of 3,479 trailers or containers, down 30.9 percent. For the first 40 weeks of 2008, Ferromex reported cumulative volume of 490,773 carloads, up 1.0 percent from last year, and 115,023 trailers or containers, down 1.3 percent. KCSM reported carload volume of 9,745 cars during the week ended October 4, down 16.1 percent, and intermodal volume of 5,662 trailers or containers, up 0.1 percent from last year. For the first 40 weeks of 2008, KCSM reported total volume of 410,814 cars, down 5.7 percent from last year, and 197,786 trailers or containers, up 8.2 percent from 2007.
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.