(The Association of American Railroads issued the following news release on February 26.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was up sharply from a year ago during the week ended February 21, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported.
Intermodal traffic totaled 181,566 trailers or containers, up 3.5 percent from the comparable week last year. Trailer traffic gained 21.6 percent, while container volume was off 2.3 percent from last year.
Carload freight, which does not include the intermodal data, totaled 333,337 cars, up 8.6 percent from last year with volume up 14.2 percent in the East and 4.6 percent in the West. Total volume was estimated at 29.9 billion ton-miles, up 10.3 percent from last year. Traffic in the year ago week was adversely affected with heavy winter snow storms, especially in the eastern part of the U.S.
Among the 15 carload commodity groups showing significant increases from last year were coke, up 32.8 percent; waste and scrap materials, up 18.7 percent; nonmetallic minerals, up 13.6 percent; crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 12.9 percent; and coal, up 12.2 percent. Four commodities were down in comparison with last year, with metallic ores off 6.1 percent.
The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first seven weeks of 2004: 2,269,369 carloads, up 2.0 percent from last year; intermodal volume of 1,361,122 trailers or containers, up 5.5 percent; and total volume of an estimated 202.9 billion ton-miles, up 3.3 percent from last year’s first seven weeks.
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. Railroads provide more than 40 percent of the nation’s intercity freight transportation, more than any other mode, and rail traffic figures are regarded as an important economic indicator.
Canadian railroads reported an increase in carload freight, but a decline in intermodal volume during the week ended February 21. Carload volume totaled 65,976 cars, up 7.2 percent. Intermodal traffic totaled 39,221 trailers or containers, down 1.1 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first seven weeks of 2004 on the Canadian railroads totaled 442,873 carloads, up 3.1 percent from last year, and 276,602 trailers and containers, down 0.3 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first seven weeks of 2004 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 2,712,242 carloads, up 2.2 percent from last year and 1,637,724 trailers and containers, up 4.5 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that originated carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended February 21 totaled 8,127 cars, down 11.1 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 4,036 originated trailers or containers, up 6.3 percent from the seventh week of 2003. For the first seven weeks of 2004, TFM reported cumulative originated volume of 55,491 cars, down 10.1 percent from last year, and 22,564 trailers or containers, down 12.9 percent.