(Source: Association of American Railroads press release, February 2, 2012)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported that total U.S. rail carloads originated in January 2012 totaled 1,144,800, an average of 286,200 per week and up 0.1 percent over January 2011. Intermodal volume in January 2012 was 877,637 containers and trailers, up 1.7 percent over January 2011. January’s average of 219,409 intermodal units per week was the third highest ever for a January for U.S. railroads. Detailed monthly data charts and tables will be made available in the AAR’s Rail Time Indicators report to be released tomorrow.
Commodities showing gains in January 2012 over January 2011 included motor vehicles and parts, up 8,188 carloads or 18.3 percent; metallic ores, up 6,860 or 29.3 percent; crushed stone, gravel and sand, up 6,417 or 11.7 percent; and petroleum products, up 6,148 carloads or 22.3 percent.
Commodities with carload declines in January included grain, down 15,099 carloads or 15.4 percent; coal, down 12,756 carloads or 2.4 percent; and chemicals, down 2,810 carloads or 2.3 percent. Carloads excluding coal and grain were up 5.5 percent (28,958 carloads) in January 2012 over January 2011.
“Total rail carload traffic in January was flat compared with last year, due largely to sharp declines in coal and grain traffic,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “However, a number of other commodity categories — including many that have historically been much more highly correlated with GDP growth than coal and grain — saw large increases in January. That’s a sign that the underlying economy is probably stronger than you would think if you just looked at the rail traffic totals.”
Total employment on Class I freight railroads was 159,717 in December 2011, down 402 employees from November 2011, but up 5,317 employees over December 2010.
AAR reported mixed weekly rail traffic for the week ending January 28, 2012, with U.S. railroads originating 283,654 carloads, down 2.8 percent compared with the same week last year. Intermodal volume for the week totaled 235,028 trailers and containers, up 5.5 percent compared with the same week last year.
Eleven of the 20 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2011, with metallic ores, up 59.2 percent; motor vehicles and equipment, up 25.1 percent, and petroleum products, up 22.2 percent. The groups showing a significant decrease in weekly traffic included farm products excluding grain, down 24.3 percent; grain, down 19.8 percent, and primary forest products, down 10.7 percent.
Weekly carload volume on Eastern railroads was down 1.6 percent compared with the same week last year. In the West, weekly carload volume was down 3.6 percent compared with the same week in 2011.