(The Association of American Railroads posted the following release on its website on September 16.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Largely because of the Labor Day holiday, freight traffic on U.S. railroads was down sharply during the week ended September 11 compared to the corresponding week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Labor day occurred a week earlier last year and, as a result, the current week which includes the holiday is being compared with a non-holiday week a year ago.
Intermodal volume during the week totaled 188,731 trailers and containers, down 8.8 from the corresponding week a year earlier, with container volume down 6.9 percent and trailer traffic down 14.0 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 316,747 units, down 7.5 percent from last year. Carload volume was down 1.1 percent in the West and 15.4 percent in the East. Total volume was estimated at 28.9 billion ton-miles, down 6.8 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first 36 weeks of 2004: 12,052,695 carloads, up 3.2 percent from last year; intermodal volume of 7,456,724 trailers or containers, up 9.4 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.089 trillion ton-miles, up 4.4 percent from last year’s first 36 weeks.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended September 11 carload traffic totaled 60,877 cars, down 5.9 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 37,865 trailers or containers, down 10.4 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 36 weeks of 2004 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,395,093 carloads, up 8.5 percent from last year, and 1,492,598 trailers and containers, down 0.1 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 36 weeks of 2004 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 14,447,788 carloads, up 4.1 percent from last year and 8,949,322 trailers and containers, up 7.7 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that originated carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended September 11 totaled 9,358 cars, up 20.9 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 4,173 originated trailers or containers, up 30.9 percent from the 36th week of 2003. For the first 36 weeks of 2004, TFM reported cumulative originated volume of 309,413 cars, up 1.2 percent from last year, and 131,907 trailers or containers, up 3.7 percent.
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. The Canadian railroads reporting to the AAR account for 90 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.