(The Association of American Railroad issued the following news release on May 11.)
WASHINGTON — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads up from last year during the week ended May 6, as carload freight reached its highest total in more than six months, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume gained 6.3 percent from last year, totaling 236,801 trailers or containers. Container volume grew by 8.9 percent while trailer volume was down 1.2 percent.
Carload freight totaled 346,504 cars, up 1.3 percent from a year earlier, with volume up 2.9 percent in the West and virtually the same as a year ago in the East. The carload total was the highest since the second week of September last year.
Total freight volume for the week was estimated at 34.0 billion ton-miles, up 1.5 percent from last year.
Eleven of 19 individual carload commodity groups were up from last year, with grain up 6.3 percent; coal gaining 3.4 percent; and crushed stone, sand and gravel rising 5.5 percent. On the downside, nonmetallic minerals were off 21.3 percent, metallic ores were down 14.3 percent, and primary forest products declined 9.4 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 18 weeks of 2006 totaled 6,038,466 carloads, up 0.3 percent from 2005; 4,116,743 trailers or containers, up 5.9 percent; and total volume of an estimated 594.4 billion ton-miles, up 1.5 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended May 6 carload traffic totaled 76,930 cars, down 1.5 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 45,976 trailers or containers, up 6.1 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 18 weeks of 2006 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,342,817 carloads, down 2.1 percent from last year, and 794,457 trailers and containers, up 5.0 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 18 weeks of 2006 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 7,381,283 carloads, down 0.1 percent from last year and 4,911,200 trailers and containers, up 5.7 percent from last year.
The AAR also said that during the week ended May 6 Mexican railroad Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) reported total carload volume of 11,394 cars, down 7.1 percent from last year. KCSM reported total intermodal volume of 3,843 trailers or containers, down 13.0 percent from the 18th week of 2005.
For the first 18 weeks of 2006, KCSM reported total cumulative volume of 204,172 cars, down 6.0 percent from last year, and 67,385 trailers or containers, down 7.4 percent.
Railroads reporting to AAR account for 87 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. The Canadian railroads reporting to the AAR account for 91 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.
AAR is the world’s leading railroad policy, research and technology organization focusing on the safety and productivity of rail carriers.