(The Association of American Railroads issued the following news release on May 12.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — All three measures of rail freight traffic were up during the week ended May 7 in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume totaled 222,674 trailers or containers, up 5.6 percent from last year, with containers up 7.0 percent and trailers up 1.6 percent.
Carload freight, which does not include the intermodal data, totaled 350,678 cars, up 3.7 percent from last year, with volume up 4.9 percent in the West and 2.3 percent in the East.
Total volume was estimated at 32.7 billion ton-miles, up 4.1 percent from last year.
Thirteen of 19 carload commodities were up from last year, with farm products other than grain up 23.6 percent; coke up 11.2 percent; grain mill products up 10.6 percent and coal up 6.7 percent. Waste and scrap materials were down 6.8 percent while motor vehicles and equipment were off 3.4 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 18 weeks of 2005 totaled 6,150,267 carloads, up 2.6 percent from 2004; 3,889,213 trailers or containers, up 7.2 percent; and total volume of an estimated 572.3 billion ton-miles, up 3.5 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended May 7 carload traffic totaled 70,464 cars, down 3.8 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 43,394 trailers or containers, down 2.8 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 18 weeks of 2005 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,264,062 carloads, up 0.5 percent from last year, and 757,050 trailers and containers, up 3.6 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 18 weeks of 2005 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 7,414,329 carloads, up 2.2 percent from last year and 4,646,263 trailers and containers, up 6.6 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that originated carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended May 7 totaled 8,628 cars, down 1.5 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 4,039 originated trailers or containers, up 9.9 percent from the18th week of 2004. For the first 18 weeks of 2005, TFM reported cumulative originated volume of 155,906 cars, up 3.2 percent from last year, and 68,579 trailers or containers, up 9.8 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.