WASHINGTON, D.C. — All three measure of freight traffic on U.S. railroads — intermodal, carloads and ton-miles — reached their highest level so far this year during the week ended August 17, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported last week.
Intermodal volume totaled 194,547 trailers and containers, up 8.2 percent from the comparable week last year. Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 350,780 cars, up 3.8 percent from last year, with loadings up 4.1 percent in the East and 3.5 percent in the West. Total volume for the week was estimated at 30.2 billion ton-miles, up 4.5 percent from the comparable week last year.
Fourteen of 19 commodity groups registered increases from last year, with loadings of nonmetallic minerals up 16.6 percent, metallic ores rising 12.5 percent, metals and products gaining 12.1 percent and coal increasing by 5.0 percent from the comparable week last year. Loadings of primary forest products were off 13.7 percent, while coke volume declined by 13.0 percent.
The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first 33 weeks of 2002: 10,774,143 carloads, down 1.3 percent from last year; intermodal volume of 5,853,302 trailers and containers, up 5.0 percent; and total volume of an estimated 923.4 billion ton?miles, down 0.4 percent from last year’s first 33 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. Both intermodal and carload traffic were also up on Canadian railroads during the week ended August 17.
Intermodal traffic totaled 43,293 trailers and containers, up 18.4 percent from last year. Carload volume of 58,636 cars was up 1.4 percent from the comparable week last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 33 weeks of 2002 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,959,900 carloads, down 3.2 percent from last year, and 1,239,377 trailers and containers, up 8.6 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 33 weeks of 2002 on 16 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 12,734,043 carloads, down 1.6 percent from last year and 7,092,639 trailers and containers, up 5.6 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended August 17 totaled 9,796 cars originated or received from connecting lines, up 15.5 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 3,864 trailers or containers, down 2.9 percent from the 33rd week of 2001. For the first 33 weeks of 2002, TFM reported cumulative volume of 341,485 cars, down 1.3 percent from last year, and 120,463 trailers or containers, up 7.4 percent.