WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. rail carload traffic fell 3.1 percent (50,455 carloads) in January 2002 compared to January 2001, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on its website February 7.
Metallic ores (down 13,438 carloads, or 21.0 percent) led the declines, followed by coal (down 11,851 carloads, or 1.7 percent), metals and metal products (down 6,179 carloads, or 10.0 percent), and chemicals (down 5,708 carloads, or 4.0 percent. All told, 14 of the 19 commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw declines in U.S. carloadings in January 2002 (five weeks ended February 2) compared with January 2001 (five weeks ended February 3).
On the positive side, carloadings of motor vehicles and equipment rose 5.9 percent (5,641 carloads) for the month, while grain mill products rose 3.3 percent (1,466 carloads) and crushed stone and gravel rose 1.8 percent (1,347 carloads).
“The Commerce Department recently announced that advance estimates show the U.S. economy actually grew 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2001,” noted AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “The consensus view appears to be that more vigorous economic growth will return by the middle of this year. We all hope that happens, and if it does we can expect an improvement in rail carloadings. In the meantime, railroads are continuing to concentrate on offering safe, efficient, and cost-effective transportation service to their customers.”
U.S. intermodal rail traffic, which consists of trailers and containers on flat cars and is not included in carload figures, was down 4.1 percent (33,677 trailers and containers) in January 2002 over January 2001. Total volume for the month was estimated at 137.1 billion ton-miles, down 1.7 percent from last January.
Canadian rail carload traffic was down 7.3 percent (22,711 carloads) in January 2002. Canadian carloadings of coal were down sharply (21.2 percent, or 9,744 carloads) for the month. Grain traffic in Canada was down 19.5 percent (9,530 carloads), and farm products excluding grain was down 52.2 percent (5,766 carloads). Chemical traffic in Canada in January was up 3.8 percent (2,515 carloads), and grain mill products was up 15.5 percent (1,234 carloads). Canadian intermodal traffic was down 3.5 percent (5,719 units) in January 2002 compared with January 2001.
Carloads originated on Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM), a major Mexican railroad, were up 8.8 percent (2,308 carloads) in the four weeks ending January 26, while intermodal originations were up 23.8 percent (1,719 trailers and containers). Total carloads carried by TFM in the first four weeks of 2002 were up 7.1 percent (2,862 carloads carried), while total intermodal traffic on TFM during this period was up 2.3 percent (258 carloads).
For just the week ended February 2, the AAR reported the following totals for U.S. railroads: 322,098 carloads, down 3.7 percent from the corresponding week in 2001, with loadings down 5.7 percent in the East and down 2.0 percent in the West; intermodal volume of 164,804 trailers and containers, down 10.1 percent; and total volume of an estimated 28.4 billion ton-miles, down 1.7 percent from the equivalent week last year.
For Canadian railroads during the week ended February 2, the AAR reported volume of 58,257 carloads, down 10.3 percent from last year; and 33,018 trailers and containers, down 7.6 percent from the corresponding week in 2001.
Combined cumulative volume for the first five weeks on 2002 on 18 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 1,850,405 carloads, down 3.8 percent (73,166 carloads) from last year; and 943,159 trailers and containers, down 4.0 percent (39,396 trailers and containers) from 2001’s first five weeks.