(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on April 24.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Thanks to strong increases in loadings of coal and grain, carload freight was up on U.S. railroads during the week ended April 19 in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Carload freight in the week ended April 19 totaled 336,847 cars, up 1.5 percent from last year. Volume was up 2.5 percent in the West and 0.3 percent in the East.
Intermodal volume, which is not included in the carload data, totaled 224,112 trailers or containers, off 3.2 percent from a year ago. Trailer volume was down 2.4 percent, while container volume declined by 3.4 percent.
Total volume was estimated at 34.9 billion ton-miles, up 3.3 percent from the 16th week of 2007.
Nine of 19 carload commodity groups registered gains from last year, with grain up 17.4 percent, coal gaining 8.0 percent, and nonmetallic minerals rising 8.6 percent. On the down side, lumber and wood products fell 20.8 percent, motor vehicles declined 20.6 percent, and metallic ores were off 17.3 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 16 weeks of 2008 totaled 5,169,692 carloads, up 1.0 percent from 2007; 3,487,182 trailers or containers, down 3.5 percent; and total volume of an estimated 534.9 billion ton-miles, up 2.3 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended April 19 carload traffic totaled 75,135 cars, down 5.0 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 49,942 trailers or containers, up 2.5 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 16 weeks of 2008 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,180,317 carloads, down 3.0 percent from last year, and 741,787 trailers and containers, an increase of 4.6 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 16 weeks of 2008 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 6,350,009 carloads, up 0.3 percent from last year, and 4,228,969 trailers and containers, off 2.2 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that carload freight on the Mexican railroad Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) during the week ended April 19 totaled 10,827 cars, up 0.6 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 5,219 trailers or containers, up 11.7 percent from the 16th week of 2007.
For the first 16 weeks of 2008, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 165,576 cars, down 3.4 percent from last year, and 75,718 trailers or containers, up 14.2 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.