(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on April 5.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Both carload freight and intermodal volume were down on U.S. railroads during March in comparison with the same month last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
U.S. railroads originated 1,310,037 carloads of freight in March 2007, down 3.4 percent (45,891 carloads) from March 2006. Intermodal rail traffic, which consists of trailers and containers on flat cars and is not included in carload figures, totaled 908,109 units in March 2007, down 1.4 percent (12,914 trailers and containers) compared with March 2006.
For the first three months of 2007, total U.S. rail carloadings were down 4.9 percent (211,519 carloads) to 4,125,876 carloads, while intermodal traffic was up 0.2 percent (4,608 units) to 2,939,039 trailers and containers. Total volume was estimated at 419.2 billion ton-miles, down 3.6 percent from 2006.
Of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR, 15 saw carload declines in March.
“U.S. rail carload traffic dipped in March 2007 compared to a strong March 2006 because overall freight transportation demand is down a bit,” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “The low demand for building products (in part because of housing weakness), difficult times for the auto industry, and severe spring snows and flooding in the West which halted coal mining have left their mark on rail volumes. The increase in intermodal traffic in the first quarter marked the 20th straight quarterly increase for intermodal.”
The biggest bright spot for U.S. rail traffic in March 2007 was chemicals, which were up 5.8 percent (6,861 carloads) to 124,687 carloads. Carloads of nonmetallic minerals in March rose 13.7 percent (2,685 carloads). On the down side, severe winter storms out West helped pull down coal volumes by 1.8 percent (9,950 carloads) in March to 550,232 carloads, while carloads of metallic ores fell by 39.8 percent, or 8,064 carloads, to 12,191 carloads. Carloads of motor vehicles and equipment were down 7.7 percent (7,702 carloads) in March 2007, while carloads of grain fell 5.6 percent (5,184 carloads).
For the first quarter of 2007 on U.S. railroads, carloads of chemicals were up 2.1 percent (7,936 carloads) to 392,505 carloads, while carloads of petroleum products were up 4.6 percent (3,482 carloads) to 78,996. Most other commodity categories were down, including motor vehicles and equipment (down 13.7 percent, or 40,943 carloads, to 257,965 carloads); crushed stone, sand, and gravel (down 13.0 percent, or 36,533 carloads, to 244,511 carloads); and grain (down 7.7 percent, or 23,257 carloads, to 279,259 carloads. Sixteen of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw carload declines in the first quarter of 2007 compared with the first quarter of 2006.
Canadian carload rail traffic in March 2007 was up 1.9 percent (6,089 carloads) to 324,910 carloads, due largely to gains in carloads of metallic ores (up 10.9 percent, or 5,502 carloads, to 56,182 carloads); chemicals (up 7.7 percent, or 4,489 carloads, to 62,695 carloads); and grain (up 9.1 percent, or 3,212 carloads, to 38,465 carloads). Canadian intermodal traffic in March 2007 was up 4.9 percent (8,812 units) over March 2006 to 187,350 trailers and containers.
For the first quarter of 2007, Canadian rail carloadings were down 2.7 percent (27,252 carloads) to 981,789 carloads; Canadian intermodal traffic for the quarter was up 1.2 percent (6,973 units) to 568,006 trailers and containers.
Carloads carried on Kansas City Southern dé Mexico (KCSM – formerly Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana), a major Mexican railroad, were down 2,235 carloads (4.7 percent) in March 2007 to 45,393 carloads, while intermodal units carried totaled 16,469 units, up 588 units (3.7 percent). For the year-to-date, KCSM carloads carried were down 6.4 percent (9,469 carloads), while intermodal units carried were up 7.1 percent (3,551 units).
For just the week ended March 31, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 315,429 carloads, down 8.7 percent from the corresponding week in 2006, with loadings down 3.8 percent in the East and down 12.8 percent in the West. Coal volumes were down 15.9 percent for the week (22,591 carloads), mainly because a major storm shut down many coal mines in the West. Intermodal volume was 228,939 trailers and containers, down 2.5 percent, and total volume was an estimated 31.9 billion ton-miles, down 7.3 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended March 31, the AAR reported volume of 82,161 carloads, down 2.0 percent from last year; and 48,260 trailers and containers, up 6.0 percent from the corresponding week in 2006.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 13 weeks of 2007 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 5,107,665 carloads, down 4.5 percent (238,771 carloads) from last year; and 3,507,045 trailers and containers, up 0.3 percent (11,581 trailers and containers) from 2006’s first 13 weeks.