(The Association of American Railroads issued the following on June 15.)
WASHINGTON — U.S. railroads reported sharp gains in both intermodal and carload freight during the week ended June 10 in comparison with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said today.
Intermodal volume gained 9.6 percent from last year, totaling 246,866 trailers or containers. Container volume grew by 11.8 percent while trailer volume was up 2.8 percent.
Carload freight totaled 350,274 cars, up 5.5 percent from a year earlier, with volume up 6.6 percent in the West and 4.0 percent in the East.
Total freight volume for the week was estimated at 34.4 billion ton-miles, up 6.5 percent from last year.
Ten of 19 individual carload commodity groups were up from last year, with metals up 20.6 percent; crushed stone, sand and gravel up 12.2 percent, coal up 9.7 percent and grain up 9.8 percent. Loadings of primary forest products were down 13.5 percent; lumber was off 10.3 percent; and metallic ores declined 12.0 percent.
Cumulative volume for the first 23 weeks of 2006 totaled 7,758,418 carloads, up 1.3 percent from 2005; 5,297,124 trailers or containers, up 6.4 percent; and total volume of an estimated 765.4 billion ton-miles, up 2.4 percent from last year.
On Canadian railroads, during the week ended June 10 carload traffic totaled 72,945 cars, up 0.4 percent from last year while intermodal volume totaled 47,358 trailers or containers, up 11.7 percent from last year.
Cumulative originations for the first 23 weeks of 2006 on the Canadian railroads totaled 1,714,835 carloads, down 2.3 percent from last year, and 1,023,826 trailers and containers, up 5.5 percent from last year.
Combined cumulative volume for the first 23 weeks of 2006 on 13 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 9,473,253 carloads, up 0.6 percent from last year and 6,320,950 trailers and containers, up 6.2 percent from last year.
The AAR also said that during the week ended June 10 Mexican railroad Kansas City Southern de Mexico (KCSM) reported total carload volume of 11,389 cars, down 3.6 percent from last year. KCSM reported total intermodal volume of 4,119 trailers or containers, down 16.1 percent from the 23rd week of 2005.
For the first 23 weeks of 2006, KCSM reported total cumulative volume of 262,077 cars, down 5.7 percent from last year, and 88,672 trailers or containers, down 7.5 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.
AAR is the world’s leading railroad policy, research and technology organization focusing on the safety and productivity of rail carriers.