(The Association of American Railroads posted the following on February 8.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite severe weather in parts of the country and continued weakness in the housing and automotive sectors, U.S. rail carload traffic rose 0.9 percent (13,876 carloads) to 1,566,721 carloads in the first five weeks of 2008 compared with the first five weeks of 2007, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today. U.S. rail intermodal traffic fell 3.4 percent (37,232 trailers and containers) to 1,068,740 units in January.
On the carload side, U.S. rail traffic was paced by grain (up 16,156 carloads, or 14.6 percent, to 126,970 carloads); coal (up 12,949 carloads, or 1.9 percent, to 695,015 carloads); and chemicals (up 7,407 carloads, or 5.1 percent, to 153,206 carloads). Commodities showing the largest declines in January 2008 included coke (down 9,462 carloads, or 33.8 percent, to 18,505 carloads); lumber and wood products (down 5,028 carloads, or 23.5 percent, to 16,324 carloads); and crushed stone, sand, and gravel (down 4,007 carloads, or 4.6 percent, to 82,570 carloads). All told, ten of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw carload increases in January.
Intermodal — the movement of truck trailers or containers on rail cars — accounts for approximately 22 percent of U.S. Class I rail revenue. In January 2008, the trailer component of U.S. intermodal traffic was down 4.9 percent (11,860 units) to 228,119, while containers were down 2.9 percent (25,372 units) to 840,621.
Total volume for the month was estimated at 161.7 billion ton-miles, up 1.9 percent from the first five weeks of 2007.
“Preliminary GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2007 was just 0.6 percent, matching the lowest quarterly figure in six years,” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “Since rail traffic is closely tied to economic growth, the economic slowdown is clearly negatively affecting rail traffic. That said, railroads provide efficient, safe, and cost-effective service, and look forward to providing even more of it when solid economic growth returns.”
Canadian rail carload traffic (which includes both the Canadian and U.S. operations of the two largest Canadian railroads) fell 11,425 carloads (3.1 percent) in January 2008 to 360,120 carloads, while Canadian intermodal traffic rose 19,541 units (9.4 percent) to 227,254 trailers and containers. The drop in Canadian carloads was mostly due to declines in lumber and wood products (down 7,107 carloads, or 38.3 percent), motor vehicles and equipment (down 6,390 carloads, or 20.6 percent), and pulp and paper products (down 2,778 carloads, or 10.8 percent). Commodity categories showing the biggest carload gains for Canadian railroads in January included metals and metal products (up 1,948 carloads, or 17.4 percent) and farm products excluding grain (up 1,863 carloads, or 19.5 percent).
Carloads carried on Kansas City Southern dé Mexico, a major Mexican railroad, were down 140 carloads (0.3 percent) in January 2008 to 49,179 carloads, while intermodal units carried of 21,662 units were up 2,170 units (11.1 percent).
For just the week ended February 2, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 320,091 carloads, up 0.9 percent from the corresponding week in 2007, with loadings down 0.1 percent in the East and up 1.6 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 225,767 trailers and containers, down 0.3 percent; and total volume of an estimated 33.2 billion ton-miles, up 2.2 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended February 2, the AAR reported volume of 68,633 carloads, down 10.7 percent from last year; and 45,358 trailers and containers, up 3.6 percent from the corresponding week in 2007.
Combined cumulative volume for the first five weeks of 2008 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 1,926,841 carloads, up 0.1 percent (2,451 carloads) from last year; and 1,295,994 trailers and containers, down 1.3 percent (17,691 trailers and containers) from 2007’s first five weeks.