(The Association of American Railroads issued the following news release on November 27.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Intermodal traffic on the nation?s railroads set another weekly record during the week ended November 22, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume of 211,337 trailers or containers broke by 100 units the record that was set just five weeks ago. The total represented an 11.9 percent increase over last year, with trailer volume up 12.4 percent and container volume up 11.8 percent.
The ten busiest weeks in intermodal history for U.S. railroads have all occurred during the eleven week period that began with the week ended September 13.
Carload freight, which does not include the intermodal data, totaled 345,169 cars, up 0.5 percent from last year with volume up 1.6 percent in the East but down 0.4 percent in the West. This is the second highest carload volume for any week this year. Total volume was estimated at 31.2 billion ton-miles, up 2.3 percent from last year.
Fifteen of 19 carload commodity groups registered gains from last year, with coke up 43.4 percent; crushed stone, sand and gravel up 12.8 percent; waste and scrap up 10.7 percent; and grain mill products up 10.5 percent. Loadings of metallic ores were down 14.8 percent while coal volume was off 3.6 percent.
The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first 47 weeks of 2003: 15,380,327 carloads, down less than one-tenth of one percent from last year; intermodal volume of 9,034,456 trailers or containers, up 6.8 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.36 trillion ton-miles, up 1.3 percent from last year?s first 47 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.
Carload freight was up but intermodal was down on Canada?s railroads during the week ended November 22 compared with the corresponding week last year. Carload volume totaled 71,990 cars, up 9.1 percent, while intermodal traffic totaled 43,023 trailers or containers, down 6.1 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 47 weeks of 2003 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,950,437 carloads, up 0.3 percent from last year, and 1,968,909 trailers and containers, up 6.2 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 47 weeks of 2003 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 18,330,764 carloads, up less than one-tenth of one percent from last year and 11,003,365 trailers and containers, up 6.7 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that originated carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended November 22 totaled 8,424 cars, down 7.2 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 3,457 originated trailers or containers, down 4.7 percent from the 47th week of 2002. For the first 47 weeks of 2003, TFM reported cumulative originated volume of 395,865 cars, down 2.5 percent from last year, and 163,039 trailers or containers, up 12.9 percent.