(The Association of American Railroads posted the following news release on its website on December 30.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was up sharply during the week ended December 25 in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today. Both weeks included the Christmas holiday.
Intermodal volume totaled 167,884 trailers or containers, up 25.7 percent from the comparable week last year. Trailer volume rose 27.7 percent while container traffic gained 25.0 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 272,421 cars, up 7.0 percent from last year, with volume up 14.9 percent in the East and 2.0 percent in the West. Total volume was estimated at 25.6 billion ton-miles, up 8.0 percent from 2003.
Fourteen of 19 carload commodities registered gains from last year, with crushed stone, sand and gravel up 32.7 percent; lumber and wood products up 29.5 percent; nonmetallic minerals up 26.8 percent; and coal up 4.8 percent. Among commodities reporting declines were farm products other than grain, down 31.0 percent and metallic ores, off 7.7 percent.
The AAR also reported the following U.S. rail freight cumulative totals for the first 51 weeks of 2004: 17,140,330 carloads, up 2.9 percent from last year; 10,829,151 trailers or containers, up 10.3 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.581 trillion ton-miles, up 5.0 percent from the first 51 weeks of 2003.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended December 25 carload traffic totaled 56,303 cars, up 18.6 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 31,877 trailers or containers, up 19.2 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 51 weeks of 2004 on the Canadian railroads totaled 3,434,289 carloads, up 6.9 percent from last year, and 2,140,584 trailers and containers, up 0.6 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 51 weeks of 2004 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 20,574,619 carloads, up 3.5 percent from last year and 12,969,735 trailers and containers, up 8.6 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that originated carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended December 25 totaled 8,392 cars, up 30.3 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 2,965 originated trailers or containers, up 72.7 percent from the 51st week of 2003. For the first 51 weeks of 2004, TFM reported cumulative originated volume of 446,387 cars, up 4.3 percent from last year, and 193,982 trailers or containers, up 10.1 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.