(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on June 5.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Carload freight was up but intermodal volume was down on U.S. railroads during May in comparison with May 2007, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Carloads of freight originated on U.S. railroads rose to 1,315,354 in May 2008, a 0.5 percent (7,061 carloads) increase compared to last year. U.S. railroads also originated 901,380 intermodal units in May 2008, a decline of 0.9 percent (8,577 trailers and containers) from May 2007.
Nine of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in May 2008 compared to May 2007.
Commodities showing carload gains in May 2008 included coal (up 14,321 carloads, or 2.6 percent, to 563,601 carloads), grain (up 12,973 carloads, or 16.9 percent, to 89,522 carloads), and chemicals (up 6,256 carloads, or 5.2 percent, to 126,662 carloads).
Commodities showing carload decreases in May 2008 included motor vehicles and equipment (down 16,162 carloads, or 19.1 percent, to 68,254 carloads); coke (down 6,759 carloads, or 31.1 percent, to 14,965 carloads); and crushed stone, sand, and gravel (down 5,091 carloads, or 5.7 percent, to 83,855 carloads).
“Coal, chemicals, and grain together accounted for nearly 60 percent of U.S. rail carloads in May, and all three showed carload increases over last year,” noted AAR Senior Vice President John Gray. “It is still the case that many of the commodity categories showing rail carload declines are associated with housing and autos, sectors of the economy that remain very weak.”
For the first five months of 2008, total U.S. rail carloads were up 68,700 carloads (1.0 percent) to 7,156,575 carloads, with the biggest gains again coming in coal (up 127,347 carloads, or 4.2 percent), grain (up 82,568 carloads, or 18.0 percent), and chemicals (up 21,177 carloads, or 3.2 percent).
U.S. intermodal traffic, which consists of trailers and containers on flat cars and is not included in carload figures, was down 152,844 trailers and containers (3.1 percent) in the first five months of 2008 to 4,837,986 units.
Total volume for the first five months of 2008 was estimated at 740.1 billion ton-miles, up 2.2 percent from the same period last year.
Canadian rail carload traffic was down 15,006 carloads (4.7 percent) in May 2008 to 304,833 carloads, and down 64,336 carloads (3.8 percent) for the year to date to 1,637,345 carloads. Commodities showing carload declines in May for Canadian railroads included motor vehicles and equipment (down 6,738 carloads, or 24.2 percent) and lumber and wood products (down 5,060 carloads, or 30.9 percent). Metallic ores had the biggest year-over-year gain in May, up 4,944 carloads (9.5 percent) to 56,989 carloads.
Canadian intermodal traffic was up 9,525 units (5.2 percent) in May 2008 compared with May 2007 to 192,513 units, and up 44,639 units (4.5 percent) for the first five months of 2008 to 1,033,001 units.
Carloads carried on Kansas City Southern dé Mexico, a major Mexican railroad, were down 1,894 carloads (4.2 percent) in May 2008 to 43,367 carloads, while intermodal units carried totaled 19,636 units, up 800 units (4.2 percent). For the year-to-date, KCSM carloads carried were down 3.8 percent (8,994 carloads) to 229,681 carloads, while intermodal units carried were up 11.5 percent (10,825 units) to 104,635 trailers and containers.
For just the week ended May 31, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 316,881 carloads, down 0.9 percent (2,838 carloads) from the corresponding week in 2007, with loadings up 1.6 percent in the East and down 2.7 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 204,038 trailers and containers, down 0.7 percent (1,489 units) from last year; and total volume of an estimated 32.7 billion ton-miles, even with the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended May 31, the AAR reported volume of 75,013 carloads, down 7.6 percent from last year; and 48,652 trailers and containers, up 4.6 percent from the corresponding week in 2007.
Combined cumulative rail volume for the first 22 weeks of 2008 on 12 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 8,793,920 carloads, up fractionally (4,364 carloads) from last year, and 5,870,987 trailers and containers, down 1.8 percent (108,205 units) from 2007’s first 22 weeks.