(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on August 2.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was off again during July, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
U.S. railroads originated 1,250,961 carloads of freight in July, down 39,196 carloads (3.0 percent) from July 2006. They also originated 913,590 intermodal trailers and containers during the month, down of 24,570 units (2.6 percent) from July 2006.
Commodities showing carload gains in July 2007 included chemicals (up 3,441 carloads, or 3.0 percent, to 119,704 carloads); motor vehicles and equipment (up 2,199 carloads, or 4.0 percent, to 57,366 carloads); and food products (up 1,584 carloads, or 4.8 percent, to 34,569 carloads).
Commodities showing carload declines in July 2007 included coal (down 15,643 carloads, or 2.9 percent, to 524,755 carloads); crushed stone, sand, and gravel (down 9,339 carloads, or 10.1 percent, to 82,933 carloads); and metals and metal products (down 6,638 carloads, or 11.9 percent, to 49,138 carloads).
Six of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in July 2007 compared to July 2006.
For the first seven months of 2007, total U.S. rail carloads were down 397,969 carloads (3.9 percent) to 9,682,355 carloads. Year-over-year traffic is down in most commodity categories, including coal (down 77,118 carloads, or 1.8 percent); crushed stone, sand, and gravel (down 75,567 carloads, or 10.9 percent); and motor vehicles and equipment (down 55,084 carloads, or 8.4 percent).
“The most recent data from the Department of Energy show that coal stockpiles at electric utilities are higher than they’ve been for years,” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “Given high stockpile levels, some problems at mines, and flooding early in the month, it’s not surprising that rail coal traffic was down in July. Despite a lagging construction sector, last week the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that preliminary GDP growth in the second quarter of 2007 was 3.4 percent, up from 0.6 percent in the first quarter. This is a hopeful signal of a return to more solid growth and a corresponding increase in demand for rail service.”
U.S. intermodal traffic, which consists of trailers and containers on flat cars and is not included in carload figures, was down 101,954 trailers and containers (1.5 percent) for the first seven months of 2007 to 6,865,965 units.
Total volume for the first seven months of 2007 was estimated at 988.5 billion ton-miles, down 2.7 percent from a year ago.
Canadian rail carload traffic was up 1,889 carloads (0.6 percent) in July 2007 to 301,846 carloads. For the year to date, total Canadian carloads are down 12,015 carloads (0.5 percent) to 2,333,721 carloads. In July, carload gains for chemicals (up 5,188 carloads, or 10.1 percent) and coal (up 4,940 carloads, or 16.8 percent) offset declines in lumber and wood products (down 2,744 carloads, or 15.7 percent) and metallic ores (down 2,571 carloads, or 4.8 percent), among others.
Canadian intermodal traffic was up 9,745 units (5.4 percent) in July 2007 compared with July 2006 to 191,047 units, and up 28,552 units (2.1 percent) for the first seven months of 2007 to 1,368,527 units.
Carloads carried on Kansas City Southern de México (formerly Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana – TFM), a major Mexican railroad, were up 855 carloads (2.1 percent) in July 2007 to 41,610 carloads, while intermodal units carried totaled 17,768 units, up 3,914 units (28.3 percent). For the year-to-date, KCSM carloads carried were down 3.9 percent (13,123 carloads), while intermodal units carried were up 12.5 percent (14,484 units).
For just the week ended July 28, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 336,072 carloads, down 0.9 percent (3,023 carloads) from the corresponding week in 2006, with loadings down 1.7 percent in the East and down 0.2 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 243,163 containers and trailers, down 3.1 percent (7,803 units) from last year but still the second highest total for any week in 2007; and total volume of an estimated 35.1 billion ton-miles, up 0.3 percent from the corresponding week of 2006.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended July 28, the AAR reported volume of 79,515 carloads, up 2.0 percent from last year; and 48,242 containers and trailers, up 4.7 percent from the corresponding week of 2006.
Combined cumulative rail volume for the first 30 weeks of 2007 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 12,016,076 carloads, down 3.3 percent (409,984 carloads) from last year, and 8,234,492 containers and trailers, down 0.9 percent (73,402 units) from the first 30 weeks of 2006.