(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on November 15.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was up compared with the same week last year during the week ended November 1, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Carload freight totaled 342,929 cars, an increase of 5.1 percent from last year, with loadings up 9.6 percent in the West but down 0.6 percent in the East.
A total of 244,060 trailers and containers were loaded during the week, down 0.8 percent the comparable week last year. Container volume bumped up 0.3 percent while trailer loadings slipped 4.5 percent from last year.
Total volume was estimated at 36.2 billion ton-miles, up 6.2 percent from the comparable week last year.
Individual carload commodities helped boost traffic for the week with metallic ores posting a gain of 17.9 percent from last year, motor vehicles & equipment showing a 16.1 percent gain and grain rising 13.8 percent. On the downside, farm products (excluding grain) fell 15.1 percent; pulp, paper and allied products posted a 12.8 percent drop, and coke slipped 12.6 percent from last year.
Cumulative volume for the first 45 weeks of 2007 totaled 14,787,735 carloads, off 2.7 percent from 2006; 10,478,820 trailers or containers, a downward nudge of 2.1 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.5 trillion ton-miles, a 1.3 percent slip down from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended November 1 carload traffic totaled 81,076 cars, up 7.9 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 52,229 trailers or containers, a boost of 5.9 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 45 weeks of 2007 on the Canadian railroads totaled 3,524,745 carloads, down 0.2 percent from last year, and 2,114,275 trailers and containers, an increase of 3.1 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 45 weeks of 2007 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 18,262,480 carloads, down 2.3 percent from last year, and 12,593,095 trailers and containers, a 1.3 percent decrease from last year.
The AAR also reported that carload freight on the Mexican railroad Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) during the week ended November 1 totaled 11,251 cars, a drop of 5.0 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 5,558 trailers or containers, up 10.2 percent from the 45th week of 2006.
For the first 45 weeks of 2007, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 490,763 cars, down 4.4 percent from last year, and 209,284 trailers or containers, up 14.1 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.