U.S. railroad carloads for week ending March 10 down 4.8% year-over-year to 278,728 carloads; intermodal volume up 4.2% to 226,039 trailers and containers: AAR
Kendall Sinclair
WASHINGTON
,
March 15, 2012
(press release)
–
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported mixed weekly rail traffic for the week ending March 10, 2012, with U.S. railroads originating 278,728 carloads, down 4.8 percent compared with the same week last year. Intermodal volume for the week totaled 226,039 trailers and containers, up 4.2 percent compared with the same week last year.
Eleven of the 20 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2011, with petroleum products, up 39.9 percent; motor vehicles and equipment, up 14.8 percent, and metallic ores, up 11.5 percent. The groups showing a significant decrease in weekly traffic included coal, down 13.1 percent, and coke, down 10.3 percent.
Weekly carload volume on Eastern railroads was down 3.8 percent compared with the same week last year. In the West, weekly carload volume was down 5.4 percent compared with the same week in 2011.
For the first ten weeks of 2012, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 2,834,520 carloads, down 1.4 percent from last year, and 2,226,134 trailers and containers, up 2.3 percent from last year.
Canadian railroads reported 75,100 carloads for the week, up 4.8 percent compared with the same week last year, and 49,253 trailers and containers, up 16.8 percent compared with 2011. For the first ten weeks of 2012, Canadian railroads reported cumulative volume of 750,911 carloads, up 6.7 percent from the same point last year, and 482,252 trailers and containers, up 6.9 percent from last year.
Mexican railroads reported 13,945 carloads for the week, down 2.5 percent compared with the same week last year, and 7,786 trailers and containers, up 17.3 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first ten weeks of 2012 is 132,704 carloads, down 7.2 percent compared to last year, and 87,525 trailers and containers, up 20 percent.
Combined North American rail volume for the first ten weeks of 2012 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 3,718,135 carloads, down 0.1 percent compared to last year, and 2,795,911 trailers and containers, up 3.5 percent compared with last year.
About AAR: The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is the world's leading railroad policy, research and technology organization focusing on the safety and productivity of rail carriers. AAR members include the major freight railroads of the U.S., Canada and Mexico, as well as Amtrak. Learn more at www.aar.org. Follow us on Twitter: AAR_FreightRail or Facebook: www.facebook.com/freightrail.
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