WASHINGTON, D.C. — Intermodal traffic on U.S. railroads was up from year-earlier levels for the ninth consecutive week during the week ended June 8, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on its website.
Intermodal traffic totaled 189,914 trailers and containers, up 8.3 percent from the comparable week last year. This was also highest volume for any week so far this year.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 339,671 cars, up 0.1 percent from last year, with volume up 2.5 percent in the West but down 2.6 percent in the East. Total volume was estimated at 28.3 billion ton-miles, virtually the same as in last year’s 23rd week.
Leading the gainers were loadings of nonmetallic minerals, up 27.5 percent from the comparable week last year. Also up sharply were loadings of metallic ores, up 19.9 percent; grain, up 11.7 percent; and farm products other than grain, up 11.6 percent. Declines were reported in eight of the 19 commodity groups, with coke down 14.8 percent from last year and coal off 6.6 percent. On the intermodal side, container volume rose 12.9 percent while trailer traffic fell 3.2 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first 23 weeks of 2002: 7,436,372 carloads, down 3.0 percent from last year; intermodal volume of 3,984,855 trailers and containers, up 3.5 percent; and total volume of an estimated 639.4 billion ton?miles, down 1.8 percent from last year’s first 23 weeks.
Railroads reporting to AAR account for 90 percent of U.S. carload freight and 97 percent of rail intermodal volume. When the U.S. operations of Canadian railroads are included, the figures increase to 96 percent and 99 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 traffic was up but carload volume was down on Canadian railroads during the week ended June 8. Intermodal traffic totaled 40,986 trailers and containers, up 14.2 percent from last year. Carload volume was 58,346 cars, down 3.4 percent from the comparable week last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 23 weeks of 2002 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,398,367 carloads, down 3.1 percent from last year, and 844,054 trailers and containers, up 6.2 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 23 weeks of 2002 on 16 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 8,834,739 carloads, down 3.0 percent from last year and 4,828,909 trailers and containers, up 3.9 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended June 8 totaled 11,115 cars originated or received from connecting lines, up 13.5 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 3,831 trailers or containers, down 2.7 percent from the 23rd week of 2001. For the first 23 weeks of 2002, TFM reported cumulative volume of 237,902 cars, down 3.8 percent from last year, and 81,745 trailers or containers, up 4.7 percent.