(The AAR issued the following news release on September 23.)
WASHINGTON — Intermodal traffic on U.S. railroads set a record during the week ended September 18, breaking a record that had been set just three weeks earlier, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume totaled 229,039 trailers and containers, up 13.1 percent from the corresponding week last year and 1.3 percent more than the 226,074 moved during the week ended August 28 when the previous record was set. The sixteen busiest weeks in history for rail intermodal traffic have all occurred over the past 21 weeks.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 346,007 units, up 0.9 percent from last year. Carload volume was up 4.0 percent in the West but down 3.1 percent in the East. Total volume was estimated at 31.3 billion ton-miles, up 1.3 percent from last year.
Loadings of nine out of 19 carload commodities were up from last year, with metallic ores up 16.1 percent; metals up 14.7 percent; and coke up 6.2 percent. Among commodities registering declines were primary forest products down 16.9 percent; farm products other than grain down 16.9 percent; and non metallic minerals down 14.0 percent.
The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first 37 weeks of 2004: 12,398,702 carloads, up 3.2 percent from last year; intermodal volume of 7,685,763 trailers or containers, up 9.5 percent; and total volume of an estimated 1.120 trillion ton-miles, up 4.3 percent from last year’s first 37 weeks.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended September 18 carload traffic totaled 68,708 cars, up 3.5 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 43,905 trailers or containers, up 7.1 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 37 weeks of 2004 on the Canadian railroads totaled 2,463,801 carloads, up 8.4 percent from last year, and 1,536,503 trailers and containers, up 0.1 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 37 weeks of 2004 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 14,862,503 carloads, up 4.0 percent from last year and 9,222,266 trailers and containers, up 7.8 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that originated carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended September 18 totaled 8,795 cars, up 17.2 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 3,027 originated trailers or containers, up 8.5 percent from the 37th week of 2003. For the first 37 weeks of 2004, TFM reported cumulative originated volume of 318,208 cars, up 1.6 percent from last year, and 134,934 trailers or containers, up 3.8 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.
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