(The Association of American Railroads circulated the following news release on September 29.)
WASHINGTON, September 29, 2005 — In spite of the impacts of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, freight traffic on U.S. railroads remained above year ago levels during the week end September 24, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume totaled 241,116 trailers or containers, up 4.4 percent from last year with container volume increasing by 5.2 percent and trailer volume gaining by 2.0 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 335,932 cars, up 0.5 percent from last year, with loadings up 6.8 percent in the East but down 4.3 percent in the West. Total volume was estimated at 33.1 billion ton-miles, up 1.5 percent from the corresponding week last year.
Loadings of chemicals and petroleum products both showed impact from the hurricanes, with chemicals down 9.4 percent from last year and petroleum products off 10.9 percent. Nine of 19 carload commodities were down from last year. Among the commodities registering gains were loadings of farm products other than grain, up 24.7 percent; lumber and wood products, up 5.9 percent; and coal, up 5.7 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 38 weeks of 2005 totaled 12,659,177 carloads, up 1.5 percent from 2004; 8,411,006 trailers or containers, up 6.2 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.22 trillion ton-miles, up 2.3 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended September 24 carload traffic totaled 78,511 cars, up 2.5 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 46,056 trailers or containers, up 2.5 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 38 weeks of 2005 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,876,433 carloads, down 0.3 percent from last year, and 1,621,824 trailers and containers, up 2.9 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 38 weeks of 2005 on U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 15,535,610 carloads, up 1.1 percent from last year and 10,032,830 trailers and containers, up 5.7 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that originated carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended September 24 totaled 7,881 cars, down 10.7percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 4,031 originated trailers or containers, down 6.8 percent from the 38th week of 2004. For the first 38 weeks of 2005, TFM reported cumulative originated volume of 320,282 cars, down 2.1 percent from last year, and 145,156 trailers or containers, up 4.2 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.