(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on June 22.)
WASHINGTON — Led by a 13,000 car gain in coal volume, freight traffic on U.S. railroads was up again during the week ended June 17 in comparison with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said today.
Intermodal volume gained 8.9 percent from last year, totaling 245,637 trailers or containers. Container volume grew by 11.2 percent while trailer volume was up 1.7 percent.
Carload freight totaled 345,939 cars, up 4.1 percent from a year earlier, with volume up 6.5 percent in the West and 1.3 percent in the East.
Total freight volume for the week was estimated at 34.1 billion ton-miles, up 5.9 percent from last year.
Coal volume was up 10.3 percent from the corresponding week last year. In addition to coal, double digit gains were also reported in loadings of metals, up 17.2 percent, and waste and scrap materials, up 13.8 percent, as 10 of 19 carload commodity groups were up from last year. Loadings of primary forest products were down 17.0 percent; farm products of than grain were off 18.0 percent; and metallic ores declined 15.5 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 24 weeks of 2006 totaled 8,104,357 carloads, up 1.4 percent from 2005; 5,542,761 trailers or containers, up 6.5 percent; and total volume of an estimated 799.5 billion ton-miles, up 2.6 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended June 17 carload traffic totaled 74,738 cars, down 0.9 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 46,666 trailers or containers, up 10.0 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 24 weeks of 2006 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,789,573 carloads, down 2.2 percent from last year, and 1,070,492 trailers and containers, up 5.7 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 24 weeks of 2006 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 9,893,930 carloads, up 0.7 percent from last year and 6,613,253 trailers and containers, up 6.3 percent from last year.
The AAR also said that during the week ended June 17 Mexican railroad Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) reported total carload volume of 11,947 cars, down 1.0 percent from last year. KCSM reported total intermodal volume of 4,813 trailers or containers, up 14.3 percent from the 24th week of 2005.
For the first 24 weeks of 2006, KCSM reported total cumulative volume of 274,024 cars, down 5.5 percent from last year, and 93,455 trailers or containers, down 6.6 percent.
Railroads reporting to AAR account for 87 percent of U.S. carload freight and 96 percent of rail intermodal volume. When the U.S. operations of Canadian railroads are included, the figures increase to 96 percent and 100 percent. The Canadian railroads reporting to the AAR account for 91 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.
AAR is the world’s leading railroad policy, research and technology organization focusing on the safety and productivity of rail carriers.