U.S. carloads fall 7.7%, intermodal up 1.1%: AAR
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefThe Association of American Railroads today reported that rail carload traffic for the week ending April 7, 2012, fell 7.7% compared to the prior-year week, with U.S. railroads originating 270,974 carloads. Intermodal volume for the week totaled 231,153 trailers and containers, up 1.1% compared with the same week last year.
Nine of the AAR’s 20 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2011, led by: petroleum products, up 33.3%; primary forest products, up 11.8%; and stone, clay and glass products, up 11.2%. The groups showing a significant decrease in weekly traffic included iron, steel and scrap, down 18.1%; grain, down 16.6%, and coal, down 16.1%.
Weekly carload volume on Eastern railroads was down 5.2% compared with the same week last year. In the West, weekly carload volume was down 9.3%, compared with the same week in 2011.
For the first 14 weeks of 2012, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 3,950,064 carloads, down 2.9%t from last year, and 3,159,598 trailers and containers, up 2.4%from last year.
Canadian railroads reported 75,089 carloads for the week, down 3.4% compared with the same week last year, and 50,454 trailers and containers, up 1.6% compared with 2011. For the first fourteen weeks of 2012, Canadian railroads reported cumulative volume of 1,061,371 carloads, up 4.7% from the same point last year, and 683,388 trailers and containers, up 6.5% from last year.
Mexican railroads reported 11,999 carloads for the week, down 16% compared with the same week last year, and 7,141 trailers and containers, up 1.3%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 14 weeks of 2012 is 188,344 carloads, down 6.5% compared with last year, and 121,958 trailers and containers, up 21.2%.
Combined North American rail volume for the first 14 weeks of 2012 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 5,199,779 carloads, down 1.6% compared with last year, and 3,964,944 trailers and containers, up 3.6% compared with last year.
