U.S. carload, intermodal freight edge up: AAR

U.S. carload freight volume for the week ending Sept. 10, 2011 moved up 0.1% from the comparable week in 2010, while U.S. intermodal volume gained 0.6%, the Association of American Railroads reported Thursday.

AAR said 13 of the 20 carload commodity groups it tracks posted increases from the comparable week in 2010, including: stone, clay and glass products, up 20.3%; lumber and wood products, up 15.8%; and petroleum products, up 14,%. Groups showing a decrease in weekly traffic included: farm products excluding grain, down 36.9%; grain, down 16.7%; and grain mill products, down 13%.

Both categories held gains for the first 36 weeks of 2011, with U.S. freight carload volume up 1.8% when measured against the comparable 2010 period, while intermodal was up 5.7%.

Canadian freight carload volume fared better by percentage, up 5.3% compared with the same week last year, but Canadian intermodal fell 1.8%. Mexican freight carload volume decline 3.5% for the week of Sept. 10 compared with a year ago, while intermodal gained 26.5%.

Combined North American freight carload volume for the first 36 weeks of 2011 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads was up 2.1% compared with the same point last year, while intermodal rose 5.5%.