(The Association of American Railroads issued the following news release on August 19.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads continued to run ahead of year ago levels during the week ended August 14, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume during the week totaled 219,156 trailers and containers, the fourth busiest week ever and 12.2 percent above the comparable week a year earlier, with container volume up 11.9 percent and trailer traffic up 12.9 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, was also up for the week, totaling 342,262 units, up 2.2 percent from last year. Carload volume was up 4.1 percent in the West and was virtually the same as a year ago in the East. Total volume was estimated at 31.1 billion ton-miles, up 3.3 percent from the corresponding week last year.
Eleven of 19 carload commodity groups were up from last year, with coke up 11.2 percent; metallic ores up 10.8 percent; petroleum products up 10.1 percent; and coal up 3.3 percent. Among commodities showing declines were nonmetallic minerals, down 15.5 percent; grain mill products, off 11.0 percent, and grain, down 5.5 percent.
The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first 32 weeks of 2004: 10,695,744 carloads, up 3.5 percent from last year; intermodal volume of 6,605,229 trailers or containers, up 9.5 percent; and total volume of an estimated 966.1 billion ton-miles, up 4.7 percent from last year’s first 32 weeks.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended August 14 carload traffic totaled 65,381 cars, up 12.8 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 42,254 trailers or containers, up 6.3 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 32 weeks of 2004 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,133,334 carloads, up 8.9 percent from last year, and 1,326,150 trailers and containers, down 0.1 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 32 weeks of 2004 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 12,829,078 carloads, up 4.3 percent from last year and 7,931,379 trailers and containers, up 7.7 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that originated carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended August 14 totaled 8,779 cars, up 12.3 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 4,315 originated trailers or containers, up 27.4 percent from the 32nd week of 2003. For the first 32 weeks of 2004, TFM reported cumulative originated volume of 272,795 cars, down 0.1 percent from last year, and 115,076 trailers or containers, up 0.8 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.