Intermodal freight on U.S. railroads registered a sharp 7.7 percent gain during the week ended March 13 in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported.

Intermodal traffic totaled 199,547 trailers or containers, with trailer traffic up 12.8 percent and container volume up 5.9 percent from last year.

Carload freight, which does not include the intermodal data, totaled 333,846 cars, up 1.0 percent from last year with volume up 3.0 percent in the West but down 1.3 percent in the East. Total volume was estimated at 30.0 billion ton-miles, up 2.7 percent from last year.

Among the ten carload commodity groups with increased loadings, double digit increases were reported in loadings of coke, up 40.2 percent from last year; crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 18.3 percent; lumber and wood products, up 13.2 percent; grain, up 13.0 percent; and waste and scrap, up 12.8 percent. Nine commodities reported declines, with primary forest products off 10.2 percent; farm products other than grain down 9.9 percent; and metals and products off 9.1 percent from last year.

The AAR also reported the following cumulative totals for U.S. railroads during the first ten weeks of 2004: 3,274,623 carloads, up 2.7 percent from last year; intermodal volume of 1,958,818 trailers or containers, up 6.6 percent; and total volume of an estimated 293.2 billion ton-miles, up 4.1 percent from last year's first ten weeks.

Canadian railroads also reported sharp increases in carload freight but a small decline in intermodal freight during the week ended March 13. Carload volume totaled 69,745 cars, up 15.6 percent, with coal up 44.6 percent and agricultural products up 33.7 percent from last year. Intermodal traffic totaled 38,391 trailers or containers, down 0.8 percent from last year.

Cumulative originations for the first ten weeks of 2004 on the Canadian railroads totaled 648,719 carloads, up 6.0 percent from last year, and 388,391 trailers and containers, down 1.7 percent from last year.

Combined cumulative volume for the first ten weeks of 2004 on 15 reporting U.S. and Canadian railroads totaled 3,923,342 carloads, up 3.2 percent from last year and 2,347,209 trailers and containers, up 5.2 percent from last year.

The AAR also reported that originated carload freight on the Mexican railroad Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM) during the week ended March 13 totaled 9,206 cars, up 5.4 percent from last year. TFM reported intermodal volume of 3,746 originated trailers or containers, down 8.3 percent from the tenth week of 2003. For the first ten weeks of 2004, TFM reported cumulative originated volume of 82,169 cars, down 8.3 percent from last year, and 33,880 trailers or containers, down 8.8 percent.

Railroads reporting to AAR account for 88 percent of U.S. carload freight and 95 percent of rail intermodal volume. When the U.S. operations of Canadian railroads are included, the figures increase to 95 percent and 100 percent. The Canadian railroads reporting to the AAR account for 90 percent of Canadian rail traffic. Railroads provide more than 40 percent of U.S. intercity freight transportation, more than any other mode, and rail traffic figures are regarded as an important economic indicator.