(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on December 23.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight volume on U.S. railroads was off during the week ended December 20 in comparison with the same week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Carload freight for the week totaled 272,878 cars, down 16.7 percent from last year, with volume off 16.1 percent in the West and 17.6 percent in the East. Intermodal volume, which is not included in the carload data, totaled 191,814 trailers or containers, down 16.5 percent from last year. Container volume was off 16.9 percent while trailer traffic fell 15.3 percent. Total volume was estimated at 29.1 billion ton-miles, down 15.4 percent from the comparable week last year.
Cumulative volume for the first 51 weeks of 2008 totaled 16,372,331 carloads, down 1.9 percent from 2007; 11,393,179 trailers or containers, down 4.0 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.71 trillion ton-miles, down 0.9 percent from last year. On Canadian railroads, during the week ended December 20 carload traffic totaled 59,159 cars, down 24.8 percent from last year, while intermodal volume totaled 41,086 trailers or containers, down 11.2 percent from 2007.
Cumulative originations for the first 51 weeks of 2008 on the Canadian railroads totaled 3,734,379 carloads, down 6.1 percent from last year, and 2,447,016 trailers and containers, an increase of 1.9 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 51 weeks of 2008 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 20,106,710 carloads, down 2.7 percent from last year, and 13,840,195 trailers and containers, a 3.0 percent decrease from last year.
Also for the week ended December 20, Mexico’s two reporting railroads showed the following results:
Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM), 8,408 total carloads, down 16.5 percent from last year, and 3,934 trailers or containers, down 19.3 percent.
Ferrocarril Mexicano (Ferromex), 11,217 total carloads, up 29.5 percent from last year, and 2,014 trailers or containers, up 7.4 percent.
For the first 51 weeks of 2008, Mexico’s railroads reported the following cumulative totals:
KCSM, 514,226 total carloads, down 7.7 percent from the first 46 weeks of 2007, and 257,783 trailers or containers, up 6.8 percent.
Ferromex, 633,976 total carloads, up 2.9 percent from last year and 145,529 trailers or containers, approximately the same as at this time last year.
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.