(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on October 30.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight volume on U.S. railroads trailed year ago totals during the week ended October 25, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Carload freight for the week totaled 325,315 cars, down 4.7 percent from last year, with volume off 4.8 percent in the West and 4.5 percent in the East. Intermodal volume, which is not included in the carload data, totaled 230,774 trailers or containers, down 4.1 percent from last year. Container volume was off 2.4 percent while trailer traffic fell 10.0 percent. Total volume was estimated at 34.5 billion ton-miles, down 3.9 percent from the comparable week last year.
Sixteen of 19 carload commodity groups were down from a year ago, with automotive traffic off 28.1 percent, waste and scrap down 22.7 percent and metals dropping 22.3 percent. Coal volume registered a 6.5 percent gain from the comparable week last year.
Cumulative volume for the first 43 weeks of 2008 totaled 13,996,433 carloads, down 0.4 percent from 2007; 9,692,715 trailers or containers, down 3.0 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.46 trillion ton-miles, up 0.7 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended October 25 carload traffic totaled 74,495 cars, down 9.8 percent from last year, while intermodal volume totaled 51,589 trailers or containers, down 0.9 percent from 2007.
Cumulative originations for the first 43 weeks of 2008 on the Canadian railroads totaled 3,192,865 carloads, down 4.6 percent from last year, and 2,083,192 trailers and containers, an increase of 3.7 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 43 weeks of 2008 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 17,189,298 carloads, down 1.2 percent from last year, and 11,775,907 trailers and containers, a 1.9 percent decrease from last year.
Also for the week ended October 25, Mexico’s two reporting railroads showed the following results:
Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM), 9,733 total carloads, down 10.5 percent from last year, and 6,324 trailers or containers, up 18.1 percent.
Ferrocarril Mexicano (Ferromex), 13,013 total carloads, up 47.1 percent from last year, and 3,256 trailers or containers, up 32.1 percent.
For the first 43 weeks of 2008, Mexico’s railroads reported the following cumulative totals:
KCSM, 441,252 total carloads, down 5.9 percent from the first 43 weeks of 2007, and 216,528 trailers or containers, up 8.9 percent.
Ferromex, 528,712 total carloads, up 2.4 percent from last year and 125,390 trailers or containers, up 0.5 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.