(The Association of American Railroads issued the following news release on August 7.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. rail carload traffic fell 1.6 percent (25,637 carloads) while intermodal traffic rose 4.3 percent (38,624 trailers and containers) in July 2003 compared to July 2002, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Coal (down 2.9 percent, or 18,288 carloads), metallic ores (down 18.5 percent, or 16,153 carloads), and motor vehicles and equipment (down 8.4 percent, or 7,157 carloads) were responsible for most of the downturn in carloadings in July. Commodities showing carload gains in July included coke (up 37.5 percent, or 6,753 carloads), chemicals (up 4.1 percent, or 5,646 carloads), and crushed stone and gravel (up 4.7 percent, or 4,880 carloads). Excluding coal, U.S. rail carloadings were down 0.8 percent (7,349 carloads) in July 2003.
For the first seven months of 2003, U.S. rail carloadings totaled 9,949,454 units, down 0.1 percent (10,991 carloads). During this period, carloads of coke were up 33.3 percent (35,238 carloads), carloads of waste and scrap were up 5.2 percent (14,035 carloads), and carloads of pulp and paper were up 5.5 percent (13,869 carloads). On the down side, coal was down 1.5 percent (61,851 carloads), motor vehicles and equipment was down 2.7 percent (20,209 carloads), and grain was down 3.1 percent (20,020 carloads). Excluding coal, U.S. rail carloadings were up 0.9 percent (50,860 carloads) in 2003 through July.
U.S. intermodal traffic totaled 5,772,723 trailers or containers, up 6.0 percent (328,653 units) in 2003 through July. Total U.S. rail volume was estimated at 877.1 billion ton-miles, up 0.6 percent from the first 31 weeks last year.
The decline in coal volumes is attributable in part to cooler-than-normal summer weather in much of the eastern half of the country, while the drop in automotive carloadings is a reflection of lower sales and production, noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. Meanwhile, intermodal growth remains solid, as retailers and others combine the long-haul economy of rail with the door-to-door convenience of trucks.
Canadian rail carload traffic was up 2.3 percent (6,570 carloads) in July 2003. Commodities that saw rail carload gains in July included chemicals (up 11.9 percent, or 6,653 carloads) and farm products excluding grain (up 24.5 percent, or 1,211 carloads). Commodities seeing declines in Canadian rail carloads in July include motor vehicles and equipment (down 6.2 percent, or 1,604 carloads) and pulp and paper (down 4.1 percent, or 1,123 carloads). Canadian intermodal traffic was up 7.5 percent (14,768 units) in July 2003 compared with July 2002.
For the first seven months of 2003, Canadian carload traffic totaled 1,896,277 units, down 1.1 percent (21,330 carloads), while Canadian intermodal traffic totaled 1,279,829 trailers or containers, up 9.2 percent (107,379 units).
Carloads originated on Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM), a major Mexican railroad, were down 0.8 percent (311 carloads) in July, while intermodal originations were down 1.9 percent (307 trailers and containers). For the first seven months of 2003, TFM carloadings totaled 265,017 units, up 1.7 percent (4,495 carloads), while intermodal traffic totaled 109,220 trailers or containers, up 26.9 percent (23,137 units).
For just the week ended August 2, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 332,890 carloads, down 1.6 percent from the corresponding week in 2002, with loadings up 1.0 percent in the East and down 3.7 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 197,780 trailers and containers (the highest weekly total so far in 2003), up 3.1 percent; and total volume of an estimated 29.3 billion ton-miles, up 0.3 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended August 2, the AAR reported volume of 60,616 carloads, up 2.0 percent from last year; and 43,649 trailers and containers, up 4.3 percent from the corresponding week in 2002.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 31 weeks of 2003 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 11,845,731 carloads, down 0.3 percent (32,321 carloads) from last year, and 7,052,552 trailers and containers, up 6.6 percent (436,032 units) from 2002’s first 31 weeks.