(The Association of American Railroads issued the following news release on September 9.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was up sharply from the corresponding week a year ago during the week ended September 4, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
The increases were magnified by the fact that the year ago week included the Labor Day holiday while the 2004 week did not.
Intermodal volume during the week totaled 219,541 trailers and containers, up 27.4 from the corresponding week a year earlier, with container volume up 27.0 percent and trailer traffic up 28.6 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 345,656 units, up 10.8 percent from last year. Carload volume was up 10.2 percent in the West and 11.6 percent in the East. Total volume was estimated at 31.3 billion ton-miles, up 11.0 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first 35 weeks of 2004: 11,735,948 carloads, up 3.6 percent from last year; intermodal volume of 7,267,993 trailers or containers, up 10.0 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.06 trillion ton-miles, up 4.7 percent from last year’s first 35weeks.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended September 4 carload traffic totaled 65,135 cars, up 12.4 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 43,540 trailers or containers, up 12.2 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 35 weeks of 2004 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,334,216 carloads, up 8.9 percent from last year, and 1,454,733 trailers and containers, up 0.2 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 35 weeks of 2004 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 14,070,164 carloads, up 4.4 percent from last year and 8,722,726 trailers and containers, up 8.2 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that originated carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended September 4 totaled 9,160 cars, up 8.7 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 4,479 originated trailers or containers, up 30.4 percent from the 35th week of 2003. For the first 35 weeks of 2004, TFM reported cumulative originated volume of 300,055 cars, up 0.7 percent from last year, and 127,734 trailers or containers, up 3.0 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.