(The Association of American Railroads issued the following news release on August 12.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was up again during the week ended August 7 in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume during the week totaled 213,677 trailers and containers, up 10.2 percent from the comparable week last year, with container volume up 9.8 percent and trailer traffic up 11.2 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, was also up for the week, totaling 331,796 units, up 1.5 percent from last year. Carload volume was up 2.1 percent in the East and 1.0 percent in the West. Total volume was estimated at 30.3 billion ton-miles, up 3.4 percent from the corresponding week last year.
Eleven of 19 carload commodity groups were up from last year, with nonmetallic minerals up 16.0 percent; coke up 14.6 percent; metals up 11.8 percent; and lumber up 11.2 percent. The largest decreases during the week were in the agricultural sector with grain off 6.1 percent and farm products other than grain down 25.3 percent.
The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first 31 weeks of 2004: 10,353,482 carloads, up 3.5 percent from last year; intermodal volume of 6,386,073 trailers or containers, up 9.4 percent; and total volume of an estimated 935.0 billion ton-miles, up 4.8 percent from last year’s first 31 weeks.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended August 7 carload traffic totaled 61,189 cars, up 11.5 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 41,172 trailers or containers, down 1.0 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 31 weeks of 2004 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,067,953 carloads, up 8.8 percent from last year, and 1,283,896 trailers and containers, down 0.3 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 31 weeks of 2004 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 12,421,435 carloads, up 4.4 percent from last year and 7,669,969 trailers and containers, up 7.6 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that originated carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended August 7 totaled 8,803 cars, up 15.3 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 3,771 originated trailers or containers, up 16.4 percent from the 31st week of 2003. For the first 31 weeks of 2004, TFM reported cumulative originated volume of 264,016 cars, down 0.4 percent from last year, and 110,761 trailers or containers, virtually the same as last year.
Railroads reporting to AAR account for 88 percent of U.S. carload freight and 95 percent of rail intermodal volume. When the U.S. operations of Canadian railroads are included, the figures increase to 95 percent and 100 percent. The Canadian railroads reporting to the AAR account for 90 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.