(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on October 4.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. railroads originated 1,340,285 carloads of freight in September 2007, down 11,536 carloads (0.9 percent) from September 2006, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today. U.S. railroads also originated 963,278 intermodal units in September 2007, a decrease of 24,625 trailers and containers (2.5 percent) over September 2006.
Five of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in September 2007 compared to September 2006. U.S. intermodal traffic is not included in carload figures.
Commodities showing carload gains in September 2007 included chemicals (up 7,669 carloads, or 6.7 percent, to 121,901 carloads); coal (up 6,533 carloads, or 1.1 percent, to 575,331 carloads); and grain (up 6,195 carloads, or 6.9 percent, to 96,009 carloads).
Commodities showing carload decreases in September 2007 included metals and metal products (down 7,761 carloads, or 13.5 percent, to 49,811 carloads); crushed stone, sand, and gravel (down 5,241 carloads, or 5.6 percent, to 88,523 carloads); and lumber or wood products (down 3,233 carloads, or 16.5 percent, to 16,342 carloads).
In the third quarter, total carloads on U.S. railroads fell 1.6 percent (67,740 carloads) to 4,276,484 carloads. Carloads of chemicals rose 3.8 percent (14,562 carloads), while grain carloads rose 4.3 percent (12,422 carloads). Carloads of crushed stone and gravel fell 8.2 percent (24,954 carloads) in the third quarter; carloads of metals and metal products were down 12.0 percent (22,425 carloads); and carloads of lumber and wood products were down 16.1 percent (10,791 carloads).
For the first nine months of 2007, total U.S. rail carloads were down 426,513 carloads (3.2 percent) to 12,707,878 carloads.
U.S. intermodal traffic was down 101,458 trailers and containers (3.2 percent) in the third quarter and was down 178,842 trailers and containers (1.9 percent) for the first nine months of 2007 to 9,024,633.
Total volume for the first 39 weeks was estimated at 1.31 trillion ton-miles, down 1.7 percent from 2006.
“Traffic this year is still down a bit from the record-setting pace of 2006, but there is no doubt that over the longer term freight transportation demand will continue to grow,” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that demand for freight rail service will increase 88 percent by 2035. According to a recent study by Cambridge Systematics, in addition to huge sums needed to maintain our existing freight rail infrastructure, approximately $148 billion must be invested to expand our freight rail network over the next three decades to make sure that adequate rail capacity exists to meet future demand. If these capacity enhancements aren’t made, everyone in the country will feel the impact.”
Canadian rail carload traffic was down 3,537 carloads (1.1 percent) in September 2007 to 320,077 carloads, down 14,621 carloads (1.4 percent) in the third quarter, and down 28,525 carloads (0.9 percent) for the year to date to 3,039,330 carloads. In September, carload gains in coal (up 3,872 carloads, or 13.6 percent) and motor vehicles and equipment (up 2,534 carloads, or 10.6 percent), among other commodities, were not enough to offset declines in carloads of metallic ores (down 4,841 carloads, or 8.5 percent), lumber and wood products (down 4,301 carloads, or 23.4 percent), and others.
Canadian intermodal traffic was up 7,673 units (4.1 percent) in September 2007 compared with September 2006 to 195,237 units; up 30,763 units (5.1 percent) in the third quarter; and up 49,570 units (2.8 percent) for the first nine months of 2007 to 1,808,761 units.
Carloads carried on Kansas City Southern dé Mexico, a major Mexican railroad, were down 2,247 carloads (4.8 percent) in September 2007 to 44,570 carloads, while intermodal units carried totaled 20,723 units, up 1,865 units (9.9 percent). For the year-to-date, KCSM carloads carried were down 3.9 percent (17,190 carloads) to 423,891 carloads, while intermodal units carried were up 13.8 percent (21,502 units) to 177,129 trailers and containers.
For just the week ended September 29, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 345,559 carloads, up 0.2 percent (841 carloads) from the corresponding week in 2006, with loadings down 4.7 percent in the East and up 4.1 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 253,244 trailers and containers, down 2.0 percent (5,267 units) but the highest weekly total in nearly a year; and total volume of an estimated 36.2 billion ton-miles, up 1.7 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended September 29, the AAR reported volume of 83,231 carloads, down 0.1 percent from last year; and 48,480 trailers and containers, down 0.5 percent from the corresponding week in 2006.
Combined cumulative rail volume for the first 39 weeks of 2007 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 15,747,208 carloads, down 2.8 percent (455,038 carloads) from last year, and 10,833,394 trailers and containers, down 1.2 percent (129,272 units) from 2006’s first 39 weeks.