(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on November 1.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was up slightly compared with the same week last year during the week ended October 27, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Carload freight totaled 341,396 cars, an increase of 0.8 percent from last year, however loadings were down 1.5 percent in the West and down 4.8 percent in the East.
A total of 240,657 trailers and containers were loaded during the week, down 4.4 percent the comparable week last year. Container volume dropped 3.4 percent while trailer loadings fell 7.8 percent from last year.
Total volume was estimated at 36.0 billion ton-miles, up 2.3 percent from the comparable week last year.
Among individual carload commodities, grain was up 15.9 percent from last year, waste & scrap metals posted a 7.0 percent gain and nonmetallic minerals rose 5.1 percent. On the downside, farm products (excluding grain) fell 17.6 percent; pulp, paper and allied products showed a 15.6 percent drop, and lumber and wood products posted a drop of 15.1 percent from last year.
Cumulative volume for the first 43 weeks of 2007 totaled 14,056,298 carloads, off 3.0 percent from 2006; 9,993,400 trailers or containers, a dip of 2.1 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.45 trillion ton-miles, a 1.5 percent drop from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended October 27 carload traffic totaled 82,767 cars, up 7.8 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 52,104 trailers or containers, rising 3.6 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 43 weeks of 2007 on the Canadian railroads totaled 3,361,515 carloads, down 0.5 percent from last year, and 2,010,658 trailers and containers, an increase of 2.9 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 43 weeks of 2007 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 17,417,813 carloads, down 2.5 percent from last year, and 12,004,058 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 October 27 totaled 10,879 cars, a drop of 5.7 percent from last year. KCSM reported intermodal volume of 5,355 trailers or containers, up 5.2 percent from the 43rd week of 2006.
For the first 43 weeks of 2007, KCSM reported cumulative volume of 468,900 cars, off 4.2 percent from last year, and 198,847 trailers or containers, up 14.8 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.