AAR: Containers pace robust intermodal gains
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefU.S. railroad intermodal volume reached a weekly record in 2010 for the week ending Sept. 25, up 17% from the comparable week in 2009, theAssociation of American Railroads said Thursday. Within the intermodal category, container traffic set its highest count on record for the second straight week, up 19.2%.
The week’s intermodal volume still trailed the comparable 2008 week by 2.1%, but container volume beat the 2008 level by 6%.
U.S. freight carload traffic for the week rose 10.7% compared with the same week in 2009, but was still down 8.2% from the same week in 2008. Seventeen of the 19 carload commodity groups increased from the comparable week in 2009, with only primary forest products, down 2.1%, and non-metallic minerals, down 1.5%, posting declines. Farm products excluding grain, up 63.9%, led those commodity groups with increases from 2009.
Canadian freight carload traffic for the week advanced 10.3% over 2009, while intermodal rose 14.2%. Mexico’s two major railroads reported freight carload traffic rose 24.7%, while intermodal grew 24.%.
Combined North American freight carload traffic for the first 38 weeks of 2010 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads was up 9.9% over the comparable 2009 period, while intermodal rose 15.2%.
