WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. rail carload traffic was off, but intermodal was up in February 2002 compared to February 2001, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on March 7.
Carload traffic fell 1.9 percent (24,516 carloads), while intermodal volume, which is not included in the carload data, registered a 4.9 percent (32,463 trailers or containers) gain.
For the second straight month, motor vehicles and equipment saw the highest volume increase among major commodity categories, rising 10,889 carloads (12.0 percent) in February 2002 compared to February 2001. Carloads of lumber or wood products rose 11.1 percent (2,366 carloads) in February 2002; carloads of grain mill products were up 6.2 percent (2,229 carloads); and carloads of crushed stone and gravel were up 2.3 percent (1,547 carloads).
Carloadings of most other major commodity categories were down in February, including coal (down 3.1 percent, or 17,185 carloads), pulp and paper products (down 8.9 percent, or 3,407 carloads), primary forest products (down 15.8 percent, or 3,270 carloads), and coke (down 17.7 percent, or 2,958 carloads). Carloads of chemicals were down 2.2 percent, or 2,529 carloads.
“February’s rail data present a mixed picture,” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “Economically-sensitive intermodal traffic is up for the first time since December 2000, and not since April 2000 has there been a bigger year-over-year increase in that category. Automotive traffic also is doing well, driven by dealers replenishing stocks and innovative rail service offerings. On the other hand, coal (mainly because of the mild winter in many parts of the country) and some other major industrial sectors are down in February.”
For the first two months of 2002, U.S. rail carloadings totaled 2,854,275 cars, down 2.6 percent (74,971 carloads), as an increase in carloadings of motor vehicles and equipment (up 8.8 percent, or 16,530 carloads) and a few other categories was more than offset by declines in coal (down 2.4 percent, or 29,036 carloads), metallic ores (down 15.9 percent, or 15,927 carloads), chemicals (down 3.2 percent, or 8,237 carloads), and other categories.
“For several basic commodity categories — including chemicals, lumber and wood products, primary metal products, and some others — year-over-year comparisons for the first nine weeks of 2002 are heading upward. This may suggest that better economic times lie ahead,” noted Rockey.
U.S. intermodal traffic totaled 1,480,676 trailers and containers, down 0.1 percent (1,214 trailers and containers) for the first two months of 2002. Total volume through nine weeks on U.S. railroads was estimated at 250.2 billion ton-miles, down 1.0 percent from last year.
Canadian rail carload traffic was down 3.2 percent (8,157 carloads) in February 2002. As in the United States, Canadian carloadings of motor vehicles and equipment were up sharply (20.3 percent, or 5,919 carloads) for the month. Chemical traffic in Canada was up 4.2 percent (2,234 carloads), and lumber and wood products was up 13.0 percent (1,600 carloads). Carloads of grain were down 21.6 percent (8,457 carloads), coal was down 17.9 percent (6,790 carloads), and farm products excluding grain was down 33.6 percent (2,696 carloads).
For the first two months of 2002, Canadian carload traffic totaled 530,218 cars, down 5.5 percent (30,868 carloads), due mainly to declines in grain (down 20.4 percent, or 17,987 carloads), coal (down 19.7 percent, or 16,534 carloads), and farm products excluding grain (down 44.4 percent, or 8,462 carloads).
Canadian intermodal traffic was up 6.3 percent (8,757 units) in February 2002 compared with February 2001 and up 1.0 percent (3,038 units) for the first two months of 2002. Intermodal volume totaled 306,393 trailers and containers.
Carloads originated on Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM), a major Mexican railroad, were down 13.0 percent (3,547 carloads) in February, while intermodal originations were down 35.2 percent (3,713 trailers and containers). For the first two months of 2002, TFM carloadings declined 3.9 percent (2,406 carloads), while intermodal traffic fell 10.0 percent (2,013 units).
For just the week ended March 2, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 321,186 carloads, down 4.0 percent from the corresponding week in 2001, with loadings down 5.1 percent in the East and down 3.1 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 180,958 trailers and containers, up 6.6 percent; and total volume of an estimated 28.1 billion ton-miles, down 3.1 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended March 2, the AAR reported volume of 61,274 carloads, down 0.7 percent from last year; and 38,043 trailers and containers, up 6.9 percent from the corresponding week in 2001.
Combined cumulative volume for the first nine weeks of 2002 on 16 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 3,384,493 carloads, down 3.0 percent (105,839 carloads) from last year; and 1,787,069 trailers and containers, up 0.1 percent (1,824 trailers and containers) from 2001’s first nine weeks.