(The Association of American Railroads posted the following report on its website on January 30.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Intermodal traffic on U.S. railroads was up sharply from last year during the week ended January 25, but carload was down, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume for the week totaled 182,175 trailers and containers, up 10.4 percent from the comparable 2002 week. Container traffic was up 16.5 percent, while trailer volume was off 5.4 percent.
Carload traffic, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 306,535 cars, 5.5 percent below the total for the comparable week last year. Carload volume was off 6.0 percent in the East and 5.1 percent in the West. Total volume was estimated at 27.4 billion ton-miles, down 5.8 percent from 2002.
Nine out of 18 carload commodity groups were up in comparison with last year, with metallic ores registering a 20.3 percent gain and coke rising by 13.0 percent. On the down side, coal was off by 12.3 percent from last year and loadings of crushed stone, gravel and sand were down 13.7 percent.
The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first four weeks of 2003: 1,229,950 carloads, virtually the same as last year; intermodal volume of 682,115 trailers and containers, up 10.5 percent; and total volume of an estimated 109.0 billion ton-miles, down 0.5 percent from last year s first four weeks.
Railroads reporting to AAR account for 90 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. 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 freight was up but carload traffic was down on Canadian railroads during the week ended January 25. Intermodal traffic totaled 40,522 trailers and containers, up 13.4 percent from last year. Carload volume of 62,068 cars was down 1.9 percent from the comparable week last year.
Cumulative originations for the first four weeks of 2003 on the Canadian railroads totaled 233,264 carloads, down 2.2 percent from last year, and 149,423 trailers and containers, up 16.8 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first four weeks of 2003 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 1,463,214 carloads, down 0.4 percent from last year and 682,115 trailers and containers, up 10.5 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended January 25 totaled 8,785 cars originated, up 13.4 percent from last year. TFM reported originated intermodal volume of 3,829 trailers or containers, up 59.0 percent from the fourth week of 2002.For the first four weeks of 2003, TFM reported cumulative volume of 33,301 cars, up 16.2 percent from last year, and 12,610 trailers or containers, up 41.2 percent.