(The Association of American Railroads issued the following news release on May 8.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Both carload and intermodal traffic were up on U.S. railroads in April 2003 compared to April 2002, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
carload traffic rose 1.2 percent (18,784 carloads) while U.S. rail intermodal traffic rose 4.9 percent (44,818 units) in April 2003 compared to April 2002, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Carload gains up 1.2 percent in April (18,784 carloads) were paced by coal (up 2.3 percent, or 14,432 carloads), coke (up 41.0 percent, or 6,889 carloads), metallic ores (up 8.2 percent, or 5,411 carloads), and waste and scrap material (up 10.6 percent, or 4,639 carloads).
On the down side, carloads of motor vehicles and equipment were down 4.1 percent (5,353 carloads) in April, carloads of chemicals were down 2.6 percent (3,807 carloads), and carloads of petroleum products were down 10.6 percent (3,074 carloads). In all, 11 of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw carload gains in April. Excluding coal, which accounted for 39 percent of all U.S. carload traffic, U.S. rail carloadings were up 0.4 percent (4,352 carloads) in April 2003.
Intermodal rail traffic, which consists of trailers and containers on flat cars and is not included in carload figures, gained 4.9 percent (44,818 units) in April, paced by a 7.2 percent (48,116 units) increase in container traffic. Trailer traffic fell 1.4 percent (3,298 units) in April.
“Relatively low coal stockpiles at electric utilities and electricity demand that has started to grow with the warmer weather have translated into higher coal carloadings for the past couple of months,” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “While that and continued strength in intermodal volumes represent good news for railroads, we look forward to a pick-up in the health of the general industrial economy that should lead to higher rail carloadings. Freight railroads provide our farmers and manufacturers with a tremendous competitive advantage in domestic and international markets. ”
For the first four months of 2003, U.S. rail carloadings were up 0.7 percent (42,366 carloads). During this period, a 2.3 percent decrease (54,649 carloads) in coal carloadings and a 2.8 percent decline (10,520 carloads) in grain traffic (among other categories) were more than offset by increases in carloads of metallic ores (up 25.8 percent, or 45,989 carloads), metals and metal products (up 8.8 percent, or 19,006 carloads), and coke (up 26.8 percent, or 16,304 carloads). U.S. intermodal traffic was up 7.6 percent (232,533 units) in 2003 through April. Total volume was estimated at 510.0 billion ton-miles, up 0.9 percent from last year s first 18 weeks.
Canadian rail carload traffic was down 2.1 percent (7,114 carloads) in April 2003. Commodities that saw rail carload gains in April include metallic ores (up 35.4 percent, or 3,580 carloads) and waste and scrap material (up 16.8 percent, or 978 carloads). Commodities seeing declines in Canadian rail carloads in April include grain (down 11.0 percent, or 4,374 carloads), motor vehicles and equipment (down 9.1 percent, or 3,835 carloads), and lumber and wood products (down 7.9 percent, or 1,588 carloads). Canadian intermodal traffic was up 6.8 percent (13,545 units) in April 2003 compared with April 2002.
For the first four months of 2003, Canadian carload traffic was down 1.2 percent (13,214 carloads), while Canadian intermodal traffic was up 10.5 percent (68,652 units).
Carloads originated on Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM), a major Mexican railroad, were down 11.4 percent (5,359 carloads) in April, while intermodal originations were up 16.8 percent (2,391 trailers and containers). For the first four months of 2003, TFM carloadings were up 3.6 percent (5,402 carloads), while intermodal traffic rose 39.3 percent (17,695 units).
For just the week ended May 3, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 334,340 carloads, up 2.3 percent from the corresponding week in 2002, with loadings up 4.0 percent in the East and up 0.9 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 197,424 trailers and containers, up 5.6 percent; and total volume of an estimated 29.0 billion ton-miles, up 2.5 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended May 3, the AAR reported volume of 65,383 carloads, down 3.1 percent from last year; and 44,425 trailers and containers, up 8.9 percent from the corresponding week in 2002.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 18 weeks of 2003 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 6,866,676 carloads, up 0.4 percent (29,152 carloads) from last year; and 4,018,530 trailers and containers, up 8.1 percent (301,185 units) from 2002’s first 18 weeks.