(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on December 6.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Carload freight was up on U.S. railroads during November, but intermodal volume was off slightly, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
U.S. railroads originated 1,322,861 carloads of freight during the month, up 37,167 carloads (2.9 percent) from November 2006. Intermodal volume of 924,190 intermodal units was off 8,482 trailers and containers (0.9 percent) from November 2006.
Ten of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in November 2007 compared to November 2006.
Commodities showing carload gains in November 2007 included coal (up 19,528 carloads, or 3.5 percent, to 577,358 carloads); grain (up 15,317 carloads, or 17.3 percent, to 103,717 carloads); and chemicals (up 8,226 carloads, or 7.3 percent, to 120,470 carloads).
Commodities showing carload declines in November 2007 included coke (down 5,146 carloads, or 20.2 percent, to 20,354 carloads); pulp and paper products (down 3,714 carloads, or 11.5 percent, to 28,581 carloads); and metallic ores (down 2,250 carloads, or 7.5 percent, to 27,820 carloads).
For the first 11 months of 2007, total U.S. rail carloads were down 394,455 carloads (2.4 percent) to 15,717,667 carloads, as year-over-year increases in chemicals (up 45,751 carloads, or 3.3 percent) and petroleum products (up 13,411 carloads, or 4.5 percent) were not enough to offset declines in most other commodity categories, including crushed stone, sand, and gravel (down 95,725 carloads, or 8.7 percent) and metals and metal products (down 57,320 carloads, or 8.4 percent). Year-to-date carloads of coal were down 0.8 percent (51,244 carloads) to 6,677,237 carloads, while year-to-date carloads of grain were virtually unchanged at 1,087,244 carloads.
“November 2007 was the first month since December 2006 that U.S. railroads saw a year-over-year monthly increase in carloadings, and the most recent week (ending December 1) was the highest single week for U.S. rail carloadings since week 23 in June 2006,” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “Strong export coal and grain sales are a factor, but more important are the continuous improvements railroads have made in their operations. Our railroads are performing very efficiently.”
U.S. intermodal traffic, which consists of trailers and containers on flat cars and is not included in carload figures, was down 234,099 trailers and containers (2.1 percent) for the first 11 months of 2007 to 11,158,950.
Total volume for the first 48 weeks of 2007 was estimated at 1.63 trillion ton-miles, down 1.0 percent from a year earlier.
Canadian rail carload traffic (including the U.S. operations of Canadian railroads) was up 28,916 carloads (9.8 percent) in November 2007 to 323,741 carloads, and up
15,544 carloads (0.4 percent) for the year to date to 3,767,410 carloads. In November, carload increases in metallic ores (up 20,712 carloads, or 56.6 percent) and coal (up 3,488 carloads, or 12.1 percent), among others, more than offset carload declines in lumber and wood products (down 2,700 carloads, or 18.1 percent) and primary forest products (down 1,303 carloads, or 16.4 percent), among other commodities.
Canadian intermodal traffic was up 18,104 units (9.8 percent) in November 2007 compared to November 2006 to 202,282 units, and up 77,990 units (3.6 percent) for the first 11 months of 2007 to 2,264,328 units.
Carloads carried on Kansas City Southern dé Mexico, a major Mexican railroad, were down 209 carloads (0.5 percent) in November 2007 to 45,383 carloads, while intermodal units carried totaled 22,100 units, up 3,691 units (20.0 percent). For the year to date, KCSM carloads carried were down 4.1 percent (22,376 carloads) to 524,895 carloads, while intermodal units carried were up 14.7 percent (29,010 units) to 225,826 trailers and containers.
For just the week ended December 1, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 349,431 carloads, up 4.5 percent (15,113 carloads) from the corresponding week in 2006, with loadings down 3.5 percent in the East and up 10.8 percent in the West. Intermodal volume was 243,842 trailers and containers, up 1.4 percent (3,275 units), while total volume was an estimated 36.9 billion ton-miles, the highest total so far in 2007 and up 6.0 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended December 1, the AAR reported volume of 83,493 carloads, up 16.6 percent from last year; and 49,380 trailers and containers, up 14.0 percent from the corresponding week in 2006.
Combined cumulative rail volume for the first 48 weeks of 2007 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 19,485,077 carloads, down 1.9 percent (378,911 carloads) from last year, and 13,423,278 trailers and containers, down 1.1 percent (156,109 units) from 2006’s first 48 weeks.