On January 11, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported that 2010 saw annual total carload traffic on U.S. railroads increase 7.3 percent with 14.8 million total carloads, compared with 13.8 million carloads in 2009. Total annual intermodal traffic in 2010 increased 14.2 percent with 11.3 million total truck trailers and shipping containers, compared with 9.9 million trailers and containers in 2009.
While the carload and intermodal traffic percentage increases in 2010 are the largest year-over-year increases since the AAR data series began in 1988, 2010 still saw the second lowest total annual carloads on record behind 2009. The combined increase in total annual carloads and intermodal trailers and containers is also roughly equivalent to approximately 20,000 additional trains moving in 2010, compared with 2009.
AAR further reported that railroads continued to bring employees back to work and cars out of storage last year. As of Jan. 1, 2011, railroads had 316,271 cars in storage, representing roughly 20.8 percent of the North American railcar fleet. That means railroads last year brought 132,284 cars out of storage. As of November 2010, the most recent month for rail employment data, the nation’s major Class I railroads employed 155,042 people, up nearly 8,000 employees from November 2009.
The full report is on the AAR website.