(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on March 8.)
WASHINGTON — Intermodal freight was up but carload volume was down on U.S. railroads during February in comparison with last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Railroads originated 1,261,167 carloads of freight in February 2007, down 54,812 carloads (4.2 percent) from February 2006. U.S. railroads also originated 924,905 intermodal units in February 2007, an increase of 36,011 trailers and containers (4.1 percent) over February 2006.
Four of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in February 2007 compared to February 2006.
Commodities showing carload gains in February 2007 included nonmetallic minerals (up 3,634 carloads, or 19.3 percent, to 22,445 carloads); coal (up 3,316 carloads, or 0.6 percent, to 544,449 carloads); and chemicals (up 2,878 carloads, or 2.4 percent, to 122,052 carloads).
Commodities showing carload decreases in February 2007 included crushed stone, sand, and gravel (down 11,926 carloads, or 14.2 percent); motor vehicles and equipment (down 10,263 carloads, or 10.9 percent); and grain (down 9,230 carloads, or 10.2 percent).
For the first two months of 2007, total U.S. rail carloads were down 167,240 carloads (5.6 percent) to 2,814,227 carloads. Commodities with the largest carload declines in 2007 through February included motor vehicles and equipment (down 33,240 carloads, or 16.7 percent); crushed stone, sand, and gravel (down 31,801 carloads, or 16.7 percent); and grain (down 18,073 carloads, or 8.6 percent).
“The U.S. freight railroad ‘factory floor’ is outdoors and about 141,000 miles long, and during February a lot of those miles were under snow and ice,” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “In addition, a week ago the government revised downward its estimate of GDP growth for the fourth quarter of last year, and it seems that a meaningful acceleration in economic activity has not occurred so far this year. That said, railroads are still hauling enormous amounts of traffic, and when the economy is ready to ship even more, railroads will be ready.”
U.S. intermodal traffic, which consists of trailers and containers on flat cars and is not included in carload figures, was up 17,469 trailers and containers (0.9 percent) for the first two months of 2007 to 2,030,877.
Total volume for the first two months of 2007 was estimated at 286.1 billion ton-miles, down 4.3 percent from the same period last year.
Canadian rail carload traffic was down 18,520 carloads (6.0 percent) in February 2007 to 287,820 carloads, and down 33,341 carloads (4.8 percent) for the year to date to 656,879 carloads. In February, a large increase in carloads of metallic ores (up 7,163 carloads, or 15.8 percent), among a few other commodities, was not enough to offset declines in lumber and wood products (down 4,969 carloads, or 26.3 percent), primary forest products (down 3,645 carloads, or 33.2 percent), and grain (down 3,147 carloads, or 8.6 percent), among others.
Canadian intermodal traffic was down 807 units (0.5 percent) in February 2007 compared with February 2006 to 172,708 units, and down 1,839 units (0.5 percent) for the first two months of 2007 to 380,656 units.
Carloads carried on Kansas City Southern de Mexico (formerly Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana – TFM), a major Mexican railroad, were down 2 carloads in February 2007 to 43,704 carloads, while intermodal units carried totaled 17,331 units, up 1,297 units (8.1 percent). For the year-to-date, KCSM carloads carried were down 7.2 percent (7,234 carloads), while intermodal units carried were up 8.8 percent (2,963 units).
For just the week ended March 3, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 322,196 carloads, down 5.0 percent (16,860 carloads) from the corresponding week in 2006, with loadings down 7.3 percent in the East and down 3.1 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 237,606 trailers and containers, the highest weekly total ever for a week in February and up 8.6 percent (18,771 units); and total volume of an estimated 32.9 billion ton-miles, down 3.2 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended March 3, the AAR reported volume of 76,048 carloads, down 2.3 percent from last year; and 43,590 trailers and containers, down 0.8 percent from the corresponding week in 2006.
Combined cumulative rail volume for the first 9 weeks of 2007 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 3,471,106 carloads, down 5.5 percent (200,581 carloads) from last year, and 2,411,533 trailers and containers, up 0.7 percent (15,630 units) from 2006’s first 9 weeks.