(The Association of American Railroads issued the following news release on June 2.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. railroads originated 1,374,661 carloads of freight in May 2005, down 805 carloads (0.1 percent) from May 2004. U.S. railroads also originated 893,384 intermodal units in May 2005, an increase of 39,430 trailers and containers (4.6 percent) over May 2004, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on June 2.
Eleven of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in May 2005 compared to May 2004.
May’s carload traffic gains were paced by crushed stone, sand, and gravel (up 8,189 carloads, or 9.1 percent, to 98,313 carloads); metallic ores (up 7,008 carloads, or 12.3 percent, to 64,144 carloads); and grain mill products (up 2,054 carloads, or 5.8 percent, to 37,419 carloads). Carloads of coal were down 11,874 carloads (2.2 percent) to 517,557 carloads in May; carloads of metals and metal products were down 3,288 carloads (6.0 percent) to 51,925 carloads; and carloads of nonmetallic minerals were down 2,842 carloads (8.3 percent) to 31,341 carloads in May.
For the first five months of 2005, total U.S. rail carloads were up 141,927 carloads (2.0 percent) to 7,174,250 carloads, as year-over-year increases in coal (up 93,047 carloads, or 3.4 percent); crushed stone, sand, and gravel (up 33,840 carloads, or 8.0 percent); and metallic ores (up 18,283 carloads, or 7.3 percent), among other categories, offset declines in motor vehicles & equipment (down 18,770 carloads, or 3.7 percent) and waste & scrap materials (down 11,498 carloads, or 5.2 percent). For the year to date, 13 of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw carload gains for U.S. railroads.
“A pair of weather-related derailments in May on tracks used to transport enormous amounts of coal out of the Powder River Basin in Wyoming disrupted normal traffic flow,” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “That disruption is largely responsible for the decline in coal carloadings in May, and for the corresponding decline in overall U.S. rail traffic. Had coal traffic levels in May not changed from last year, overall U.S. non-intermodal rail carloadings would have risen by some 11,000 units, or 1.3 percent.”
U.S. intermodal traffic, which consists of trailers and containers on flat cars and is not included in carload figures, was up 288,844 trailers and containers (6.8 percent) for the first five months of 2005 to 4,559,923 units.
Total volume for the first 21 weeks of 2005 was estimated at 667.6 billion ton-miles, up 2.8 percent from last year.
Canadian rail carload traffic was down 5,316 carloads (1.8 percent) in May 2005 to 282,350 carloads, and up 3,925 carloads (0.3 percent) for the year to date to 1,475,948 carloads. Carloads of coal in Canada were up 4,348 carloads (13.2 percent) in May 2005 to 37,179 carloads and up 942 carloads (0.5 percent) for the first five months of the year to 178,613 carloads. Carloads of chemicals for Canadian railroads were down 2.4 percent (1,472 carloads) in May to 59,608 carloads, but up 3,843 carloads (1.2 percent) for the first five months of the year. Traffic levels for the first five months of 2005 for Canadian railroads were up for 13 of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR.
Canadian intermodal traffic was down 1,475 units (0.8 percent) in May 2005 compared with May 2004 to 173,403 units, and up 25,711 units (3.0 percent) for the first five months of 2005 to 887,059 units.
Carloads originated on Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM), a major Mexican railroad, were down 2,100 carloads (5.8 percent) in May 2005 to 34,282 carloads, while intermodal originations of 16,285 were up 965 trailers and containers (6.3 percent). For the first five months of 2005, TFM carloadings were up 2,938 carloads (1.6 percent) to 181,560 carloads, while intermodal traffic was up 6,709 units (9.1 percent) to 80,825 units.
For just the week ended May 28, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 350,870 carloads, up 1.3 percent from the corresponding week in 2004, with loadings up 1.4 percent in the East and up 1.3 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 222,223 trailers and containers, up 3.6 percent; and total rail traffic volume of an estimated 32.7 billion ton-miles, up 1.9 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended May 28, the AAR reported volume of 69,866 carloads, up 0.6 percent from last year; and 41,192 trailers and containers, down 1.6 percent from the corresponding week in 2004.
Combined cumulative rail volume for the first 21 weeks of 2005 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 8,650,198 carloads, up 1.7 percent (145,852 carloads) from last year, and 5,446,982 trailers and containers, up 6.1 percent (314,555 units) from 2004’s first 21 weeks.