AAR: Winter storms hamper U.S. rail freight

U.S. freight carload trafficfor the week ending Feb. 5, 2011 was virtually flat with the corresponding week a year earlier, while U.S. intermodal volume slipped 1.5% during the week, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday. AAR attributed the winter weather as a factor.

Eight of the 20 carload commodity groups posted increases from the comparable week in 2010, AAR said, with metallic ores leading the groups, up 33.5%. Declining commodities were led farm products excluding grain, down 17.9%.

Canadian freight carload volume fell 2.6% for the week compared with a year earlier, but Canadian intermodal volume advanced 1.7%. Mexican freight carload volume gained 18.9%, while intermodal leaped ahead 46.2%.

Combined North American rail volume for the first five weeks of 2011 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads was up 4.8% compared with the same period in 2010. Intermodal volume for the five-week period rose 5.2% compared with the same period in 2010.