(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on December 18.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight volume on U.S. railroads was off during the week ended December 13 in comparison with the same week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Carload freight for the week totaled 292,434 cars, down 9.3 percent from last year, with volume off 3.6 percent in the West and 16.9 percent in the East. Intermodal volume, which is not included in the carload data, totaled 211,354 trailers or containers, down 11.6 percent from last year. Container volume was off 10.8 percent while trailer traffic fell 14.2 percent. Total volume was estimated at 31.2 billion ton-miles, down 7.7 percent from the comparable week last year.
Cumulative volume for the first 50 weeks of 2008 totaled 16,099,453 carloads, down 1.7 percent from 2007; 11,201,365 trailers or containers, down 3.8 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.68 trillion ton-miles, down 0.6 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended December 13 carload traffic totaled 62,155 cars, down 18.1 percent from last year, while intermodal volume totaled 41,545 trailers or containers, down 14.4 percent from 2007.
Cumulative originations for the first 50 weeks of 2008 on the Canadian railroads totaled 3,675,220 carloads, down 5.7 percent from last year, and 2,405,930 trailers and containers, an increase of 2.2 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 50 weeks of 2008 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 19,774,673 carloads, down 2.4 percent from last year, and 13,607,295 trailers and containers, a 2.8 percent decrease from last year.
Also for the week ended December 13, Mexico’s two reporting railroads showed the following results:
Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM), 8,602 total carloads, down 17.0 percent from last year, and 5,041 trailers or containers, down 1.3 percent.
Ferrocarril Mexicano (Ferromex), 11,987 total carloads, up 23.7 percent from last year, and 2,460 trailers or containers, down 3.6 percent.
For the first 50 weeks of 2008, Mexico’s railroads reported the following cumulative totals:
KCSM, 505,818 total carloads, down 7.5 percent from the first 50 weeks of 2007, and 253,849 trailers or containers, up 7.3 percent.
Ferromex, 622,759 total carloads, up 2.5 percent from last year and 143,515 trailers or containers, down 0.1 percent.
Railroads reporting to AAR account for 89 percent of U.S. carload freight and 98 percent of rail intermodal volume. When the U.S. operations of Canadian railroads are included, the figures increase to 96 percent and 100 percent. The Canadian railroads reporting to the AAR account for 91 percent of Canadian rail traffic. Railroads provide more than 40 percent of U.S. intercity freight transportation, more than any other mode, and rail traffic figures are regarded as an important economic indicator.