(The AAR issued the following on April 7.)
WASHINGTON — U.S. railroads originated 1,729,924 carloads of freight in March 2005, up 2.5 percent (42,764 carloads) from March 2004, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today. U.S. intermodal rail traffic, which consists of trailers and containers on flat cars and is not included in carload figures, totaled 1,056,685 units in March 2005, up 3.0 percent (31,045 trailers and containers) compared with March 2004.
For the first three months of 2005, total U.S. rail carloadings were up 2.5 percent (107,154 carloads) to 4,402,656 carloads, while intermodal traffic was up 7.6 percent (196,209 units) to 2,781,254 trailers and containers. Total volume was estimated at 408.7 billion ton-miles, up 3.3 percent from last year.
“The traffic gains in March reflect an economy that is expanding at a healthy pace,” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “But freight railroads are not just passive beneficiaries of that growth. Rather, their efficiency and cost effectiveness actively contribute to that growth and help our economy expand faster than it otherwise would. Operating largely behind the scenes, U.S. freight railroads are moving more freight today than ever before.”
U.S. rail traffic in March 2005 was paced by coal (up 6.7 percent, or 44,541 carloads, to 705,520 carloads), coke (up 14.2 percent, or 4,129 carloads, to 33,217 carloads), and chemicals (up 2.3 percent, or 3,416 carloads, to 154,096 carloads). Commodities showing carload declines in March 2005 included motor vehicles and equipment (down 8.4 percent, or 10,869 carloads, to 118,677 carloads) and waste and scrap material (down 10.5 percent, or 5,703 carloads, to 48,387 carloads). All told, 12 of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw carload gains in March 2005 compared with March 2004.
For the first three months of 2005, coal carloadings were up 5.6 percent (93,705 carloads) and carloads of crushed stone and gravel were up 6.5 percent (15,937 carloads) to pace all other commodities.
Canadian carload rail traffic was down 0.6 percent (2,000 carloads) in March 2005 to 360,340 carloads, due largely to declines in carloads of motor vehicles and equipment (down 10.6 percent, or 4,368 carloads, to 37,012 carloads), grain (down 6.2 percent, or 2,654 carloads, to 39,912 carloads), and coal (down 2.7 percent, or 1,241 carloads, to 44,176 carloads). Canadian chemical traffic in March 2005 was up 4.1 percent (3,062 carloads) from March 2004 to 78,605 carloads, while metallic ores was up 5.9 percent (938 carloads) and nonmetallic minerals was up 7.7 percent (811 carloads). Canadian intermodal traffic in March 2005 was up 5.1 percent (10,299 units) from March 2004 to 213,040 trailers and containers.
For the first quarter of 2005, Canadian rail carloadings were up 1.6 percent (14,308 carloads) to 906,176 carloads; Canadian intermodal traffic for the quarter was up 4.9 percent (25,402 units) to 538,684 trailers and containers.
Carloads originated on Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM), a major Mexican railroad, totaled 41,901 carloads in March 2005, down 3.3 percent (1,443 carloads) from March 2004, while intermodal originations of 16,391 trailers and containers were down 13.8 percent (2,627 units). For the first three months of 2005, TFM carloadings of 110,860 were up 3.7 percent (3,909 carloads), while intermodal traffic of 47,313 units was up 4.2 percent (1,927 units).
For just the week ended April 2, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 350,106 carloads, up 1.6 percent from the corresponding week in 2004, with loadings down 3.4 percent in the East and up 5.7 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 210,260 trailers and containers, down 0.1 percent; and total volume of an estimated 32.3 billion ton-miles, up 2.2 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended April 2, the AAR reported volume of 74,283 carloads, down 1.0 percent from last year; and 42,364 trailers and containers, down 4.9 percent from the corresponding week in 2004.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 13 weeks of 2005 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 5,308,832 carloads, up 2.3 percent (121,462 carloads) from last year; and 3,319,938 trailers and containers, up 7.2 percent (221,611 trailers and containers) from 2004’s first 13 weeks.