WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rail intermodal traffic was up sharply during the week ended October 19 as West Coast docks continued to clear up the backlog of containers that occurred as a result of their earlier shutdown, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported yesterday (October 24).
Intermodal volume totaled 201,571 trailers and containers, up 7.4 percent from the comparable week last year and 32.8 percent from the previous week this year. Container volume was up 10.7 percent from last year, while trailer loadings declined by 1.2 percent.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, was off by 0.1 percent from last year, totaling 347,791 cars. Carload volume was up 0.1 percent in the East but down 0.3 percent in the West. Total volume was estimated at 30.1 billion ton-miles, up 1.0 percent from the 42nd week of 2001.
Eleven out of 19 carload commodity groups registered gains from last year, with metal and products up 14.2 percent from the comparable week last year; waste and scrap materials up 9.2 percent and motor vehicles and equipment up 8.4 percent. On the downside, primary forest products declined by 13.4 percent from last year, while petroleum products were off 12.5 percent and grain was down 8.6 percent.
The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first 42 weeks of 2002: 13, 859, 374 carloads, down 0.9 percent from last year; intermodal volume of 7,517,058 trailers and containers, up 3.9 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.203 trillion ton-miles, up 0.9 percent from last year’s first 41 weeks. Railroads reporting to AAR account for 90 percent of U.S. carload freight and 97 percent of rail intermodal volume. When the U.S. operations of Canadian railroads are included, the figures increase to 96 percent and 99 percent. Railroads provide more than 40 percent of the nation’s intercity freight transportation, more than any other mode, and rail traffic figures are regarded as an important economic indicator.
Intermodal volume was up but carload traffic was down on Canadian railroads during the week ended October 19. Intermodal traffic totaled 40,816 trailers and containers, up 2.2 percent from last year. Carload volume of 60,350 cars was down 4.0 percent from the comparable week last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 42 weeks of 2002 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,503,637 carloads, down 2.7 percent from last year, and 1,615,481 trailers and containers, up 10.0 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 42 weeks of 2002 on 16 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 16,373,011 carloads, down 1.2 percent from last year and 9,132,539 trailers and containers, up 4.9 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended October 19 totaled 11,356 cars originated or received from connecting lines, up 15.4 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 4,363 trailers or containers, up 14.4 percent from the 42nd week of 2001. For the first 42 weeks of 2002, TFM reported cumulative volume of 442,196 cars, up 2.2 percent from last year, and 155,330 trailers or containers, up 8.1 percent.