(The Association of American Railroads issued the following news release on April 28.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was up during the week ended April 23 in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume totaled 225,201 trailers or containers, up 5.7 percent from last year, with containers up 7.6 percent and trailers up 0.2 percent.
Carload freight, which does not include the intermodal data, totaled 344,323 cars, up 0.8 percent from last year, with volume up 0.9 percent in the West and 0.6 percent in the East.
Total volume was estimated at 32.3 billion ton-miles, up 1.6 percent from last year.
Twelve of 19 carload commodities were up from last year, with farm products other than grain up 13.5 percent; crushed stone, sand and gravel up 11.5 percent; metallic ores up 10.2 percent; and grain up 7.4 percent. Loadings of primary forest products declined 11.4 percent while motor vehicles and equipment were off 11.2 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 16 weeks of 2005 totaled 5,445,115 carloads, up 2.6 percent from 2004; 3,440,286 trailers or containers, up 7.3 percent; and total volume of an estimated 506.3 billion ton-miles, up 3.5 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended April 23 carload traffic totaled 71,159 cars, down 4.8 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 43,865 trailers or containers, up 4.5 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 16 weeks of 2005 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,120,083 carloads, up 0.9 percent from last year, and 668,358 trailers and containers, up 4.2 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 16 weeks of 2005 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 6,565,198 carloads, up 2.3 percent from last year and 4,108,644 trailers and containers, up 6.8 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that originated carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended April 23 totaled 8,925 cars, down 2.9 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 4,218 originated trailers or containers, up 15.2 percent from the 16th week of 2004. For the first 16 weeks of 2005, TFM reported cumulative originated volume of 138,073 cars, up 3.8 percent from last year, and 60,454 trailers or containers, up 9.4 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.