(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on April 27.)
WASHINGTON — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads up from last year during the week ended April 22, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume gained 3.8 percent from last year, totaling 233,730 trailers or containers. Container volume grew by 6.5 percent while trailer volume was down 4.3 percent.
Carload freight totaled 341,491 cars, up 1.3 percent from a year earlier, with volume up 5.8 percent in the West but down 4.0 percent in the East.
Total freight volume for the week was estimated at 33.5 billion ton-miles, up 2.1 percent from last year.
Thirteen of 19 individual carload commodity groups were down from last year, with nonmetallic minerals off 22.6 percent, primary forest products down 12.5 percent and motor vehicles and equipment off 10.9 percent. Among the six commodities showing increases were metals, up 11.1 percent , coal, up 7.0 percent, and metallic ores, up 5.9 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 16 weeks of 2006 totaled 5,351,334 carloads, up 0.4 percent from 2005; 3,634,872 trailers or containers, up 5.7 percent; and total volume of an estimated 529.0 billion ton-miles, up 1.6 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended April 22 carload traffic totaled 77,112 cars, up 1.8 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 47,324 trailers or containers, up 8.0 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 16 weeks of 2006 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,186,915 carloads, down 2.1 percent from last year, and 700,143 trailers and containers, up 4.8 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 16 weeks of 2006 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 6,538,249 carloads, virtually the same as last year and 4,335,015 trailers and containers, up 5.5 percent from last year.
The AAR also said that during the week ended April 22 Mexican railroad Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) reported total carload volume of 10,561 cars, down 18.4 percent from last year. KCSM reported total intermodal volume of 3,330 trailers or containers, down 24.1 percent from the 16th week of 2005.
For the first 16 weeks of 2006, KCSM reported total cumulative volume of 180,461 cars, down 5.9 percent from last year, and 59,616 trailers or containers, down 6.8 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.