Intermodal volume remains strong; carloads rise

by Jim Repass
TRA Advisor
Founder of National Corridors Initiative

Intermodal traffic on U.S. railroads was up sharply again during the week ended February 15, in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Thursday.

Intermodal volume for the week totaled 187,500 trailers and containers, up 8.6 percent from the comparable 2002 week. Container traffic was up 14.1 percent, while trailer volume was off 5.8 percent.

Carload traffic, which doesn’t include the intermodal data, totaled 323,770 cars, 0.1 percent above the total for the comparable week last year. Carload volume was up 1.6 percent in the East, but down 1.2 percent in the West. Total volume was estimated at 28.9 billion ton-miles, virtually the same as last year.

Double digit gains were reported in loadings of metallic ores, up 39.5 percent from last year; coke, up 18.1 percent; and metals, up 17.5 percent. Grain loadings were down 10.5 percent while coal was off 5.4 percent from last year. In all, 11 of 19 commodity groups registered gains from the comparable 2002 week.

The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first seven weeks of 2003: 2,191,440 carloads, up 0.4 percent from last year; intermodal volume of 1,241,443 trailers and containers, up 10.5 percent; and total volume of an estimated 195.0 billion ton-miles, up 0.1 percent from last year’s first seven weeks.

Railroads reporting to AAR account for 90 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. Railroads provide more than 40 percent of the nation’s intercity freight transportation, more than any other mode, and rail traffic figures are regarded as an important economic indicator.

On Canadian railroads, intermodal volume was up while carload traffic was down during the week ended February 15. Intermodal traffic totaled 48,995 trailers and containers, up 4.3 percent from last year. Carload volume of 62,772 cars was down 0.7 percent from the comparable week last year.

Cumulative originations for the first seven weeks of 2003 on the Canadian railroads totaled 422,650 carloads, down 0.8 percent from last year, and 269,454 trailers and containers, up 15.0 percent from last year.

Combined cumulative volume for the first seven weeks of 2003 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 2,614,090 carloads, up 0.2 percent from last year and 1,510,897 trailers and containers, up 11.3 percent from last year.

The AAR also reported that carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended February 15 totaled 9,535 cars originated, up 63.4 percent from last year. TFM reported originated intermodal volume of 3,786 trailers or containers, up 85.7 percent from the seventh week of 2002.

For the first seven weeks of 2003, TFM reported cumulative volume of 59,253 cars, up 29.7 percent from last year, and 23,702 trailers or containers, up 64.3 percent.

AAR is the world’s leading railroad policy, research and technology organization focusing on the safety and productivity of rail carriers.

AAR is online at http://www.aar.org.

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Used by Permission
Copyright 2003, NCI, Inc.
Reprint from Destination Freedom, Vol. 4, No. 8.