(The Association of American Railroads issued the following news release on June 3.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Carload traffic on U.S. freight railroads rose 5.8 percent (75,743 carloads) while intermodal traffic rose 13.6 percent (102,522 units) in May 2004 compared to May 2003, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Commodities showing carload gains in May included coal (up 4.0 percent, or 20,401 carloads), grain (up 21.1 percent, or 15,128 carloads), chemicals (up 13.5 percent, or 14,885 carloads), and primary metal products (up 15.7 percent, or 7,500 carloads). Commodities showing carload declines in May included grain mill products (down 5.3 percent, or 1,968 carloads) and pulp and paper products (down 3.2 percent, or 1,119 carloads). Of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR, 14 saw carload increases on U.S. railroads in May 2004 compared with May 2003.
For the first five months of 2004, U.S. rail carloadings totaled 7,034,627 cars, up 3.8 percent (255,491 carloads), paced by year-to-date increases in coal (up 3.0 percent, or 80,146 carloads), grain (up 12.6 percent, or 53,149 carloads), crushed stone and gravel (up 8.4 percent, or 32,864 carloads), and chemicals (up 5.2 percent, or 31,898 carloads).
Commodities showing year-over-year carload declines on U.S. railroads in May 2004 included motor vehicles and equipment (down 3.2 percent, or 16,910 carloads) and metallic ores (down 4.8 percent, or 12,543 carloads).
U.S. intermodal traffic totaled 4,271,079 trailers or containers, up 9.0 percent (352,131 units) in 2004 through May. Total volume through the first 21 weeks of 2004 was estimated at 634.3 billion ton-miles, up 5.2 percent from last year.
“The year-over-year monthly traffic improvement in May 2004 compared with May 2003 is slightly overstated due to the inclusion of Memorial Day in last year’s data for the month but not this year,” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “Even so, there is no denying that U.S. freight rail traffic is up significantly thanks to the improving economy. The efficiency of our transportation sector — especially freight railroads — is a catalyst for growth and one of our nation’s primary competitive advantages in the global economy.”
Canadian rail carload traffic was up 13.0 percent (32,082 carloads) in May 2004. Commodities that saw rail carload gains in May included grain (up 47.4 percent, or 11,273 carloads), chemicals (up 20.6 percent, or 10,441 carloads), and metallic ores (up 27.9 percent, or 2,920 carloads). Commodities seeing declines in Canadian rail carloads in May included coal (down 5.4 percent, or 1,879 carloads) and primary forest products (down 9.3 percent, or 807 carloads). Canadian intermodal traffic was up 2.7 percent (4,559 units) in May 2004 compared with May 2003. Of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR, 14 saw carload increases on Canadian railroads in May 2004 compared with May 2003.
For the first five months of 2004, Canadian carload traffic totaled 1,421,735 cars, up 8.3 percent (108,596 carloads), paced by solid increases in grain (up 27.8 percent, or 38,441 carloads), chemicals (up 5.1 percent, or 15,423 carloads), and coal (up 8.2 percent, or 13,515 carloads). Canadian intermodal traffic totaled 864,782 trailers or containers, up 0.3 percent (2,387 units) in 2004 through May.
Carloads originated on Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM), a major Mexican railroad, were up 3.0 percent (1,054 carloads) in May, while intermodal originations were down 40.4 percent (6,289 trailers and containers). For the first five months of 2004, TFM carloadings were down 3.2 percent (5,880 carloads), while intermodal traffic was down 14.8 percent (11,324 units).
For just the week ended May 29, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 347,206 carloads, up 10.6 percent from the corresponding week in 2003, with loadings up 11.1 percent in the East and up 10.3 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 214,554 trailers and containers, the second highest weekly total ever and up 26.2 percent over 2003; and total volume of an estimated 31.6 billion ton-miles, up 11.7 percent from the equivalent week last year. [Note: the equivalent week included Memorial Day in 2003 but not in 2004.]
For Canadian railroads during the week ended May 29, the AAR reported volume of 67,222 carloads, up 10.6 percent from last year; and 42,024 trailers and containers, down 0.9 percent from the corresponding week in 2003.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 21 weeks of 2004 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 8,456,362 carloads, up 4.5 percent (364,087 carloads) from last year; and 5,135,861 trailers and containers, up 7.4 percent (354,518 units) from 2003’s first 21 weeks.