(The Association of American Railroads issued the following news release on March 30.)
WASHINGTON — Solid gains were reported in rail freight traffic during the week ended March 25 in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today.
Intermodal volume gained 10.9 percent from last year, totaling 234,170 trailers or containers. Container volume grew by 13.5 percent while trailer volume was up 3.4 percent.
Carload freight was totaled 343,667 cars, up 2.5 percent from a year earlier, with volume up 2.6 percent in the East and 2.3 percent in the West.
Total freight volume for the week was estimated at 34.0 billion ton-miles, up 3.7 percent from last year.
Ten 12 of 19 individual carload commodity groups showed gains from last year, with food and food products up 10.0 percent; motor vehicles and equipment up 6.8 percent; and coal up 5.6 percent. On the downside, nonmetallic minerals were off 28.6 percent; pulp, paper and allied products fell 10.6 percent; and coke declined by 10.0 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 12 weeks of 2006 totaled 3,991,854 carloads, up 0.7 percent from 2005; 2,703,424 trailers or containers, up 5.2 percent; and total volume of an estimated 395.5 billion ton-miles, up 1.9 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended March 25 carload traffic totaled 74,141 cars, down 0.7 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 44,632 trailers or containers, up 6.2 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 12 weeks of 2006 on the Canadian railroads totaled 882,445 carloads, down 2.2 percent from last year, and 516,096 trailers and containers, up 4.1 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 12 weeks of 2006 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 4,874,299 carloads, up 0.2 percent from last year and 3,219,520 trailers and containers, up 5.0 percent from last year.
The AAR also said that during the week ended March 25 Mexican railroad Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) reported total carload volume of 11,404 cars, up 11.5 percent from last year. KCSM reported total intermodal volume of 3,595 trailers or containers, up 44.3 percent from the 12th week of 2005.
For the first 12 weeks of 2006, KCSM reported total cumulative volume of 135,646 cars, down 4.4 percent from last year, and 45,485 trailers or containers, down 3.4 percent.
Railroads reporting to AAR account for 87 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. The Canadian railroads reporting to the AAR account for 91 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.