(The Association of American Railroads posted the following story on its website on June 10.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was off during the holiday week ended June 5, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume of 189,429 trailers and containers was 2.4 percent below the corresponding week last year. Trailer traffic was down 4.5 percent while container volume showed a 1.7 percent decline.
Carload freight, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 320,666 units, down 3.7 percent from last year. Total volume was estimated at 29.1 billion ton-miles, off 2.7 percent from the corresponding week last year.
The most recent week included the Memorial Day holiday, which was not included in the comparison week from last year.
Five of 19 carload commodity groups showed gains from last year, with coke up 9.6 percent from last year and nonmetallic minerals up 7.7 percent. Among commodities registering declines were farm products other grain, off 22.1 percent, and primary forest products, down 17.1 percent.
The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first 22 weeks of 2004: 7,355,319 carloads, up 3.4 percent from last year; intermodal volume of 4,460,508 trailers or containers, up 8.4 percent; and total volume of an estimated 663.4 billion ton-miles, up 4.8 percent from last year’s first 22 weeks.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended June 5 carload traffic totaled 66,848 cars, up 8.8 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 42,068 trailers or containers, down 5.2 percent.
Cumulative originations for the first 22 weeks of 2004 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,488,383 carloads, up 8.3 percent from last year, and 906,850 trailers and containers, virtually the same as last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 22 weeks of 2004 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 8,843,702 carloads, up 4.2 percent from last year and 5,367,358 trailers and containers, up 6.9 percent from last year.
The AAR also reported that originated carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended June 5 totaled 11,703 cars, up 118.7 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 1,915 originated trailers or containers, down 41.7 percent from the 22nd week of 2003. For the first 22 weeks of 2004, TFM reported cumulative originated volume of 189,646 cars, up 0.3 percent from last year, and 67,277 trailers or containers, down 15.9 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.