(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on April 20.)
WASHINGTON — Total freight volume on U.S. railroads was off slightly from last year during the week ended April 15, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
However, the AAR cautioned that comparisons with last year difficult because the 2006 week included Good Friday, which is observed as a holiday on many U.S. railroads. The comparison week from last year did not include the holiday.
Intermodal volume gained 5.4 percent from last year, totaling 231,773 trailers or containers. Container volume grew by 8.2 percent while trailer volume was down 3.0 percent.
Carload freight totaled 337,197 cars, down 2.7 percent from a year earlier, with volume off 0.4 percent in the West and 5.5 percent in the East.
Total freight volume for the week was estimated at 33.0 billion ton-miles, down 2.1 percent from last year.
Fourteen of 19 individual carload commodity groups were down from last year, with nonmetallic minerals off 26.3 percent, primary forest products down 15.3 percent and pulp, paper and allied products off 10.3 percent. Among the five commodities showing increases were metals, up 5.8 percent , grain, up 2.4 percent, and coal, up 1.1 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 15 weeks of 2006 totaled 5,009,843 carloads, up 0.4 percent from 2005; 3,401,142 trailers or containers, up 5.8 percent; and total volume of an estimated 495.5 billion ton-miles, up 1.6 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended April 15 carload traffic totaled 71,999 cars, down 6.8 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 44,988 trailers or containers, up 1.3 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 15 weeks of 2006 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,109,803 carloads, down 2.4 percent from last year, and 652,819 trailers and containers, up 4.6 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 15 weeks of 2006 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 6,119,646 carloads, down 0.1 percent from last year and 4,053,961 trailers and containers, up 5.6 percent from last year.
The AAR also said that during the week ended April 15 Mexican railroad Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) reported total carload volume of 10,782 cars, down 17.1 percent from last year. KCSM reported total intermodal volume of 2,992 trailers or containers, down 36.8 percent from the 15th week of 2005.
For the first 15 weeks of 2006, KCSM reported total cumulative volume of 169,900 cars, down 5.0 percent from last year, and 56,286 trailers or containers, down 5.5 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.