NORTH AMERICAN RAILROADS’ INTERMODAL TRAFFIC RISES

NORTH AMERICAN RAILROADS’ INTERMODAL TRAFFIC RISES    North America’s major railroads reported significant increases in intermodal traffic for the one-week and 50-week periods ended Dec. 14, while reporting marginal to no increase in carload freight.
   The Washington-based Association of American Railroads reported a 12.3 percent increase in intermodal traffic, as compared to the same week last year, with total loadings of 197,477 trailers and containers. “Container traffic was up 16.2 percent from the same week last year, while trailer volume gained 3.4 percent,” the association said. Carload freight was up in the United States by 1 percent from last year, totaling 341,028 cars. Broken down, carload volume was up 2.6 percent in the West, but down 1.1. percent in the East. Total volume was estimated at 29.5 billion ton-miles, up 1 percent over the same week in 2001.
   Fourteen out of the 19 carload commodity showed gains, with double digit increases in metallic ores, up 42.3 percent; coke, up 28.9 percent; metals and products, up 21.2 percent; and non-metallic minerals, up 12.3 percent. Declines were reported for crushed stone, gravel and sand; primary forest products; and coal.
   The AAR also reported year-to-date totals for U.S. railroads for the first 50 weeks of 2002. Intermodal volume was up 4.4 percent, to 9 million trailers and containers. Carload freight was down 0.8 percent from last year, amounting to 16.6 million carloads. Total volume was an estimated 1.4 trillion ton miles, up 0.4 percent from last year.
   Combined U.S. and Canadian volume for the first 50 weeks of 2002 on 16 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 19.6 million carloads, down 1.1. percent from last year, and 11 million trailers and containers, up 5.6 percent from last year.
Carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana during the week ending Dec. 14 totaled 10,342 cars originated and received from connecting lines, down 6.1 percent from last year. The railroad reported intermodal volume of 3,560 trailers and containers, up 10.6 percent from the same week last year. TFM reported a cumulative volume of 531,385 cars, up 3.5 percent from last year, and 186,954 trailers or containers, up 10.5 percent.
   Railroads reporting to the AAR account for 90 percent of U.S. carload freight and 97 percent of rail intermodal traffic. When the U.S. operations of Canadian railroads are included, the figures increase to 96 and 99 percent, the AAR said.
   “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,” the AAR said.