(The Association of American Railroads posted the following release on its website on December 7.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was mixed during November, with intermodal up and carload freight down from November 2005, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
U.S. railroads originated 1,622,455 carloads of freight in November, down 15,255 carloads (0.9 percent) from November 2005. U.S. railroads also originated 1,182,424 intermodal units in November 2006, an increase of 7,648 trailers and containers (0.7 percent) over November a year ago.
Seven of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in November 2006 compared to November 2005.
Commodities showing carload gains in November 2006 included coal (up 27,151 carloads, or 4.0 percent, to 698,905 carloads); grain (up 3,493 carloads, or 3.2 percent, to 112,570 carloads); and coke (up 2,903 carloads, or 9.8 percent, to 32,500 carloads).
Commodities showing carload declines in November 2006 included motor vehicles and equipment (down 18,838 carloads, or 16.5 percent, to 95,239 carloads); lumber or wood products (down 7,042 carloads, or 25.3 percent, to 20,837 carloads); and stone, clay, or glass products (down 6,774 carloads, or 13.6 percent, to 43,132 carloads).
For the first 11 months of 2006, total U.S. rail carloads were up 184,844 carloads (1.2 percent) to 16,113,749 carloads, as year-over-year increases in coal (up 289,219 carloads, or 4.5 percent), and metals and metal products (up 46,752 carloads, or 7.4 percent, among other commodities, offset declines in motor vehicles and equipment (down 66,452 carloads, or 6.2 percent) and nonmetallic minerals (down 59,147 carloads, or 16.7 percent), among others.
“Because railroads serve our nation’s producers and consumers, the domestic economy has a fundamental impact on them, and the current status of the auto and housing sectors are reflected in rail traffic figures for motor vehicles and equipment and lumber,” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “Overall, however, rail volume in 2006 remains ahead of 2005 levels, thanks especially to coal and intermodal, which are the top two revenue producers for U.S. railroads.”
U.S. intermodal traffic, which consists of trailers and containers on flat cars and is not included in carload figures, was up 572,500 trailers and containers (5.3 percent) for the first 11 months of 2006 to 11,392,711.
Total volume through November was estimated at 1.61 trillion ton-miles, up 2.4 percent from a year ago.
Canadian rail carload traffic was down 17,941 carloads (4.7 percent) in November 2006 to 363,790 carloads, and down 61,666 carloads (1.7 percent) for the year to date to 3,576,222 carloads. In November, declines in carloads of metallic ores (down 5,941 carloads, or 13.5 percent) and motor vehicles and equipment (down 4,391 carloads, or 12.3 percent), among others, more than offset carload gains in grain (up 4,519 carloads, or 9.0 percent) and chemicals (up 1,949 carloads, or 2.8 percent), among other commodities.
Canadian intermodal traffic was up 3,626 units (1.6 percent) in November 2006 compared with November 2005 to 232,576 units, and up 106,613 units (5.1 percent) for the first 11 months of 2006 to 2,189,449 units.
Carloads carried on Kansas City Southern dé Mexico (formerly Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana – TFM), a major Mexican railroad, were up 750 carloads (1.3 percent) in November 2006 to 57,758 carloads, while intermodal units carried totaled 23,657 units, up 3,008 units (14.6 percent). For the year-to-date, KCSM carloads carried were down 3.0 percent (17,078 carloads), while intermodal units carried were down 0.9 percent (1,709 units).
For just the week ended December 2, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 334,532 carloads, 46 carloads more than the corresponding week in 2005, with loadings down 3.3 percent in the East and up 2.8 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 240,229 trailers and containers, down 1.4 percent (3,493 units); and total volume of an estimated 34.2 billion ton-miles, up 0.9 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended December 2, the AAR reported volume of 69,735 carloads, down 8.4 percent from last year; and 43,332 trailers and containers, down 4.2 percent from the corresponding week in 2005.
Combined cumulative rail volume for the first 48 weeks of 2006 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 19,689,971 carloads, up 0.6 percent (123,178 carloads) from last year, and 13,582,160 trailers and containers, up 5.3 percent (679,113 units) from 2005’s first 48 weeks.