(The Association of American Railroads issued the following press release on January 16.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Intermodal traffic on U.S. railroads was up, but carload freight was down during the week ended January 11, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume for the week totaled 186,604 trailers and containers, up 9.4 percent from the comparable 2002 week. Container traffic was up 13.5 percent, while trailer volume was off 1.7 percent.
Carload traffic, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 327,682 cars, just 0.7 percent below the total for the comparable week last year. Carload volume was off 0.4 percent in the East and 1.0 percent in the West. Total volume was estimated at 29.1 billion ton-miles, down 0.3 percent from 2002.
Sharp increases in comparison with last year were reported in loadings of farm products other than grain, up 61.2 percent; coke, up 31.5 percent; metallic ores, up 11.3 percent; and metals, up 10.2 percent. Seven of 19 carload commodity groups were down in comparison with last year, with grain, grain mill products and primary forest products all down 6.8 percent; and coal off 5.3 percent.
The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first two weeks of 2003: 599,276 carloads, up 3.7 percent from last year; intermodal volume of 313,376 trailers and containers, up 9.6 percent; and total volume of an estimated 52.9 billion ton?miles, up 3.7 percent from last year’s first two weeks.
Railroads reporting to AAR account for 90 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. 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.
Intermodal freight was up but carload traffic was down on Canadian railroads during the week ended January 11. Intermodal traffic totaled 42,131 trailers and containers, up 20.3 percent from last year. Carload volume of 63,242 cars was down 2.2 percent from the comparable week last year.
Cumulative originations for the first two weeks of 2003 on the Canadian railroads totaled 108,336 carloads, down 2.2 percent from last year, and 70,806 trailers and containers, up 21.2 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first two weeks of 2003 on 16 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 707,612 carloads, up 2.8 percent from last year and 384,182 trailers and containers, up 11.5 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended January 11 totaled 8,864 cars originated, up 7.1 percent from last year. TFM reported originated intermodal volume of 3,216 trailers or containers, up 271.8 percent from the second week of 2002.
For the first two weeks of 2003, TFM reported cumulative volume of 15,540 cars, up 9.8 percent from last year, and 4,799 trailers or containers, up 23.8 percent.