(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on October 2.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. railroads originated 1,278,188 carloads of freight in September 2008, down 62,029 carloads (4.6 percent) from September 2007, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today. U.S. railroads also originated 918,319 intermodal units in September 2008, a decrease of 44,959 trailers and containers (4.7 percent) from September 2007.
Three of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR — coal, metallic ores, and the catch-all “all other” category — saw U.S. carload increases in September 2008 compared to September 2007. Coal was up 17,062 carloads (3.0 percent) to 592,306 carloads in September, while carloads of metallic ores were up 4,648 carloads (16.8 percent).
Among other commodities, carloads of motor vehicles and equipment were down 19,756 carloads (24.7 percent); carloads of chemicals were down 14,716 carloads (12.1 percent); and carloads of crushed stone, sand, and gravel were down 14,221 carloads (16.1 percent). Carloads of grain were down 8.3 percent for the month (7,993 carloads).
“September was not kind to U.S. freight railroads,” noted AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “Hurricane Ike caused significant damage, both to rail infrastructure and to rail customer facilities on the Gulf Coast, including many chemical facilities. And, of course, railroads and their customers are not immune to the upheaval in the general economy due to the credit crunch.”
In the third quarter, total carloads on U.S. railroads fell 1.2 percent (51,329 carloads) to 4,225,452 carloads. In the quarter, carloads of coal rose 4.1 percent (75,330 carloads), carloads of metallic ores rose 16.2 percent (15,474 carloads), and carloads of waste and scrap material rose 5.2 percent (6,754 carloads). Carloads of motor vehicles and equipment fell 26.7 percent (64,178 carloads) in the third quarter; carloads of crushed stone and gravel were down 9.1 percent (25,515 carloads); and carloads of coke were down 32.3 percent (23,751 carloads).
“Coal was a bright spot in the third quarter,” Gray noted. “In fact, it’s likely that U.S. railroads moved more coal in the third quarter than in any quarter in history.”
For the first nine months of 2008, total U.S. rail carloads were down 31,579 carloads (0.2 percent) to 12,677,188 carloads. U.S. intermodal traffic was down 86,644 trailers and containers (2.8 percent) in the third quarter and was down 278,002 trailers and containers (3.1 percent) for the first nine months of 2008 to 8,746,631. Total volume was estimated at 1.32 trillion ton-miles, up 0.9 percent from last year.
Canadian rail carload traffic was down 21,195 carloads (6.6 percent) in September 2008 to 298,056 carloads; down 48,825 carloads (4.9 percent) in the third quarter; and down 131,433 carloads (4.3 percent) for the year to date to 2,894,725 carloads. In September, carload gains in metallic ores (up 3,308 carloads, or 6.3 percent) and farm products other than grain (up 1,789 carloads, or 14.8 percent), among other commodities, were not enough to offset declines in carloads of chemicals (down 8,328 carloads, or 14.0 percent), grain (down 8,273 carloads, or 20.0 percent), motor vehicles and equipment (down 6,229 carloads, or 23.7 percent), and others.
Canadian intermodal traffic was up 9,053 units (4.6 percent) in September 2008 compared with September 2007 to 203,856 units; up 25,237 units (4.0 percent) in the third quarter; and up 75,813 units (4.2 percent) for the first nine months of 2008 to 1,882,300 units.
Carloads carried on Kansas City Southern dé Mexico, a major Mexican railroad, were down 8,072 carloads (18.1 percent) in September 2008 to 36,498 carloads, while intermodal units carried totaled 22,696 units, up 1,973 units (9.5 percent). For the year-to-date, KCSM carloads carried were down 5.4 percent (22,822 carloads) to 401,069 carloads, while intermodal units carried were up 13.8 percent (14,995 units) to 192,194 trailers and containers.
For just the week ended September 27, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 329,350 carloads, down 4.7 percent (16,148 carloads) from the corresponding week in 2007, with loadings down 4.6 percent in the East and down 4.7 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 246,280 trailers and containers, down 2.7 percent (6,964 units) but the highest weekly total so far in 2008; and total volume of an estimated 34.6 billion ton-miles, down 3.6 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended September 27, the AAR reported volume of 77,988 carloads, down 6.2 percent from last year; and 52,058 trailers and containers, up 7.6 percent from the corresponding week in 2007.
Combined cumulative rail volume for the first 39 weeks of 2008 on 12 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 15,571,913 carloads, down 1.0 percent (163,012 carloads) from last year, and 10,628,931 trailers and containers, down 1.9 percent (202,189 units) from 2007’s first 39 weeks.