(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on , June 29.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Strong gains in loadings of coal and grain were reported on U.S. railroads during the week ended June 24, as overall traffic levels once again were above levels recorded during the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Coal loadings were up 5.1 percent from last year while grain volume registered a 17.1 percent, as eight of 19 carload commodity groups were up from last year. On the negative side, loadings of nonmetallic minerals were down 43.6 percent and metallic ores were off 19.5 percent.
Overall, carload volume for the week totaled 340,834 cars, up 1.8 percent from last year, with loadings up 6.5 percent in the West, but down 3.8 percent in the East.
Intermodal volume gained 7.9 percent from last year, totaling 245,145 trailers or containers. Container volume grew by 9.8 percent while trailer volume was up 2.1 percent.
Total freight volume for the week was estimated at 33.6 billion ton-miles, up 3.1 percent from last year.
Cumulative volume for the first 25 weeks of 2006 totaled 8,445,191 carloads, up 1.4 percent from 2005; 5,787,906 trailers or containers, up 6.5 percent; and total volume of an estimated 833.1 billion ton-miles, up 2.6 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended June 24 carload traffic totaled 76,417 cars, up 2.1 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 45,830 trailers or containers, up 9.7 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 25 weeks of 2006 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,865,990 carloads, down 2.0 percent from last year, and 1,116,322 trailers and containers, up 5.8 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 25 weeks of 2006 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 10,311,181 carloads, up 0.8 percent from last year and 6,904,228 trailers and containers, up 6.4 percent from last year.
The AAR also said that during the week ended June 24 Mexican railroad Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) reported total carload volume of 11,156 cars, down 1.4 percent from last year. KCSM reported total intermodal volume of 4,273 trailers or containers, down 10.8 percent from the 25th week of 2005.
For the first 25 weeks of 2006, KCSM reported total cumulative volume of 285,180 cars, down 5.4 percent from last year, and 97,758 trailers or containers, down 6.8 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.