(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on September 6.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. railroads originated 1,685,238 carloads of freight in August 2007, down 17,008 carloads (1.0 percent) from August 2006. U.S. railroads also originated 1,195,390 intermodal trailers and containers in August 2007, a decrease of 52,263 units (4.2 percent) from August 2006, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported.
Commodities showing carload gains in August 2007 included grain (up 6,561 carloads, or 5.8 percent, to 118,945 carloads), coke (up 4,862 carloads, or 20.0 percent, to 29,157 carloads), motor vehicles and equipment (up 4,700 carloads, or 4.8 percent, to 102,630 carloads), and chemicals (up 3,452 carloads, or 2.3 percent, to 153,076 carloads).
Commodities showing carload declines in August 2007 included crushed stone, sand, and gravel (down 10,374 carloads, or 8.7 percent, to 108,360 carloads); metals and metal products (down 8,026 carloads, or 10.9 percent, to 65,358 carloads); metallic ores (down 4,795 carloads, or 12.1 percent, to 34, 915 carloads); and pulp, paper, and allied products (down 4,666 carloads, or 11.1 percent, to 37,306 carloads).
Eight of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in August 2007 compared to August 2006.
For the first eight months of 2007, total U.S. rail carloads were down 414,977 carloads (3.5 percent) to 11,367,593 carloads. Year-over-year traffic is down in most commodity categories, including crushed stone, sand, and gravel (down 85,941 carloads, or 10.6 percent); coal (down 76,095 carloads, or 1.6 percent); and motor vehicles and equipment (down 50,384 carloads, or 6.7 percent).
“While the current reluctant economy continues to soften rail traffic volumes, last week’s announced preliminary GDP figure of 3.4 percent for the second quarter of 2007, up from 0.6 percent during the first quarter, is a hopeful signal of a return to a more solid expansion” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey.
U.S. intermodal traffic, which consists of trailers and containers on flat cars and is not included in carload figures, was down 154,217 trailers and containers (1.9 percent) for the first eight months of 2007 to 8,061,355 units.
Canadian rail carload traffic was down 12,973 carloads (3.3 percent) in August 2007 to 385,532 carloads. For the year to date, total Canadian carloads are down 24,988 carloads (0.9 percent) to 2,719,253 carloads. In August, carload gains for coal (up 6,466 carloads, or 19.9 percent) and motor vehicles and equipment (up 1,221 carloads, or 3.6 percent) offset much of the decline in metallic ores (down 6,236 carloads, or 9.1 percent) and lumber and wood products (down 4,546 carloads, or 20.7 percent), among others.
Canadian intermodal traffic was up 13,345 units (5.8 percent) in August 2007 compared with August 2006 to 244,997 units, and up 41,897 units (2.7 percent) for the first eight months of 2007 to 1,613,524 units.
Carloads carried on Kansas City Southern de México (formerly Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana – TFM), a major Mexican railroad, were down 1,820 carloads (3.2 percent) in August 2007 to 54,693 carloads, while intermodal units carried were up 5,153 units (24.6 percent) to 26,132 in August 2007. For the year-to-date, KCSM carloads carried were down 3.8 percent (14,943 carloads), while intermodal units carried were up 14.4 percent (19,637 units).
For just the week ended September 1, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 342,921 carloads, down 1.1 percent (3,734 carloads) from the corresponding week in 2006, with loadings down 2.6 percent in the East and up 0.1 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 244,044 containers and trailers, down 3.6 percent (9,124 units) from last year; and total volume of an estimated 36.0 billion ton-miles, up 0.3 percent from the corresponding week of 2006.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended September 1, the AAR reported volume of 76,365 carloads, down 7.3 percent from last year; and 50,128 containers and trailers, up 4.3 percent from the corresponding week of 2006.
Combined cumulative rail volume for the first 35 weeks of 2007 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 14,086,846 carloads, down 3.0 percent (439,965 carloads) from last year, and 9,674,879 containers and trailers, down 1.1 percent (112,320 units) from the first 35 weeks of 2006.