(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on September 8.)
WASHINGTON — In spite of the impact of Hurricane Katrina, U.S. freight railroads continued to do their part to keep the economy going, moving more freight both during the week ended September 3 and the month of August than they did during the same periods last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
“Freight railroads sustained extensive damage in the area affected by Hurricane Katrina, but the industry’s resilience and fast reaction allowed it to move more cargo during the week of the storm than during the same week of 2004,” noted Edward R. Hamberger, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads. “Railroads are concentrating on establishing detours for its affected rail traffic, repairing damaged infrastructure, and providing aid to the citizens and businesses of the ravaged Gulf area.”
For the week in which Katrina hit, intermodal volume was up 7.1 percent while carload freight rose 0.2 percent.
For the month of August 2005, U.S. railroads originated 1,688,052 carloads of freight, up 9,142 carloads (0.5 percent) over August 2004. U.S. railroads also originated 1,174,499 intermodal units in August 2005, an increase of 78,902 trailers and containers (7.2 percent) over August 2004, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Thirteen of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in August 2005 compared to August 2004, and four of the top seven highest volume intermodal weeks in history were in August 2005.
August’s carload traffic gains were paced by crushed stone, sand, and gravel (up 9,715 carloads, or 8.5 percent, to 124,262 carloads); grain (up 8,243 carloads, or 8.3 percent, to 108,021 carloads); and nonmetallic minerals (up 6,028 carloads, or 16.9 percent, to 41,643 carloads). Carloads of coal were down 11,410 carloads (1.7 percent) to 676,520 carloads in August; carloads of metals and metal products were down 4,709 carloads (6.8 percent) to 64,641 carloads; and carloads of chemicals were down 2,801 carloads (1.8 percent) to 149,397 carloads.
For the first eight months of 2005, total U.S. rail carloads were up 152,283 carloads (1.3 percent) to 11,645,498 carloads, as year-over-year increases in coal (up 86,791 carloads, or 1.9 percent); crushed stone, sand, and gravel (up 60,725 carloads, or 8.3 percent); and metallic ores (up 19,236 carloads, or 8.1 percent), among other categories, offset declines in waste & scrap materials (down 23,414 carloads, or 6.5 percent) and motor vehicles & equipment (down 22,765 carloads, or 2.8 percent), among others. For the year to date, 12 of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw carload gains for U.S. railroads.
U.S. intermodal traffic, which consists of trailers and containers on flat cars and is not included in carload figures, was up 452,183 trailers and containers (6.2 percent) for the first eight months of 2005 to 7,720,176 units.
Total volume for the first 35 weeks of 2005 was estimated at 1.12 trillion ton-miles, up 2.2 percent from last year.
Canadian rail carload traffic was down 348 carloads (0.1 percent) in August 2005 to 374,844 carloads. In August, carloads of farm products excluding grain were up 5,917 carloads (194.6 percent) to 8,957 carloads, while carloads of coal were up 3,762 carloads (9.7 percent) to 42,363 carloads. On the down side, carloads of chemicals in Canada in August were down 3,089 carloads (4.4 percent) to 67,171 carloads, while carloads of lumber and wood products were down 2,919 carloads (11.8 percent) to 21,842.
In 2005 through August, Canadian carloadings were down 12,243 carloads (0.5 percent) to 2,648,165 carloads, with coal up 14,796 carloads (5.1 percent) to 306,352 carloads, metallic ores up 10,522 carloads (3.3 percent) to 328,317 carloads, and farm products excluding grain up 10,100 carloads (21.7 percent) to 56,653 carloads. Carloads of grain in Canada in 2005 through August were down 17,347 carloads (5.7 percent) to 284,561. Traffic levels for the first eight months of 2005 for Canadian railroads were up for 9 of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR.
Canadian intermodal traffic was up 10,013 units (4.7 percent) in August 2005 compared with August 2004 to 221,389 units, and up 38,787 units (2.7 percent) for the first eight months of 2005 to 1,488,088 units.
Carloads originated on Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM), a major Mexican railroad, were down 4,312 carloads (9.6 percent) in August 2005 to 40,530 carloads, while intermodal originations of 19,483 units were down 1,261 (6.1 percent). For the first eight months of 2005, TFM carloadings were down 3,592 carloads (1.2 percent) to 296,463 carloads, while intermodal traffic was up 6,104 units (4.8 percent) to 133,838 units.
For just the week ended September 3, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 339,469 carloads, up 0.2 percent from the corresponding week in 2004, with loadings up 1.0 percent in the East and down 0.4 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 235,222 trailers and containers, up 7.1 percent and the sixth highest week ever; and total rail traffic volume of an estimated 33.4 billion ton-miles, up 0.6 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended September 3, the AAR reported volume of 74,309 carloads, down 1.8 percent from last year; and 46,229 trailers and containers, up 6.6 percent from the corresponding week in 2004.
Combined cumulative rail volume for the first 35 weeks of 2005 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 14,293,663 carloads, up 1.0 percent (140,040 carloads) from last year, and 9,208,264 trailers and containers, up 5.6 percent (490,970 units) from 2004’s first 35 weeks.