Congested rails set volume records

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 2/1/1998

Prosperity has its drawbacks. Railroad service in the West suffered mightily last year, and one contributor to those problems was the record volume of freight moved over the nation's rails.

According to the Association of American Railroads, the U.S. lines set records for both intermodal shipments and for freight ton-miles. The intermodal volume of 8.7 million trailers and containers for the 52-week period that ended Dec. 27 broke the previous 52-week record, set in 1996, by a robust 6.8 percent. Container shipments, which grew by 8.3 percent to 5.2 million, continued to outdistance trailer shipments, which climbed by 4.6 percent to 3.5 million.

Total ton-miles reached 1,372.6 billion, just about 1 percent higher than the 1996 record. (Ton-miles are determined by multiplying freight tonnage by the distance it's moved.) Total carloadings hit 17.8 million, up slightly from 1996 and just shy of the record set in 1995. Motor vehicles and equipment, up 4.7 percent, showed the strongest growth in carloadings, while chemicals, metals and products, and lumber and wood products also showed healthy gains.

Intermodal on the fast track

Intermodal traffic

Trailers Containers

1992 3.26 million 3.36 million

1993 3.46 million 3.69 million

1994 3.75 million 4.38 million

1995 3.49 million 4.44 million

1996 3.32 million 4.83 million

1997 3.45 million 5.24 million

Source: Association of American Railroads