Rail freight traffic continues to recover this year, and the industry posted its safest year on record last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on March 22. Coal continues to recover at a strong pace.
Total U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 18, 2017 was 495,281 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.4% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week were 246,465 carloads, up 4.6% compared with the same week in 2016, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 248,816 containers and trailers, up 0.3%.
Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2016. They included coal, up 18.9% to 77,123 carloads; grain, up 8.1% to 23,243 carloads; and nonmetallic minerals, up 3.3% to 33,255 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2016 included motor vehicles and parts, down 13.8% to 16,621 carloads; petroleum and petroleum products, down 9.3% to 9,655 carloads; and miscellaneous carloads, down 5.9% to 9,237 carloads.
For the first 11 weeks of 2017, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 2,803,485 carloads, up 4.9% from the same point last year; and 2,854,161 intermodal units, up 0.2% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 11 weeks of 2017 was 5,657,646 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 2.5% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending March 18, 2017, on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 345,292 carloads, up 6.3% compared with the same week last year, and 319,052 intermodal units, up 2.3% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 664,344 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.3%. North American rail volume for the first 11 weeks of 2017 was 7,478,833 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.3% compared with 2016.
Canadian railroads reported 81,651 carloads for the week, up 12.4%, and 60,051 intermodal units, up 11.4% compared with the same week in 2016. For the first 11 weeks of 2017, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 1,531,393 carloads, containers and trailers, up 7.9%.
Mexican railroads reported 17,176 carloads for the week, up 3.9% compared with the same week last year, and 10,185 intermodal units, up 1.7%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 11 weeks of 2017 was 289,794 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 2.4% from the same point last year.
SAFETY MILESTONES
U.S. railroads had the lowest train accident rate on record in 2016, according to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) data. Derailment rates, which declined 10% in 2016 from 2015, as well as track-caused accident rates, are also both all-time lows. “The 2016 rail safety statistics continue a string of record-setting years, showing this period has been the safest ever for the rail sector,” AAR said.
Notable statistics, calculated per million train-miles using March 2017 FRA data:
• Train accident rate is down 44% since 2000.
• Equipment-caused accident rate is down 34% since 2000.
• Track-caused accident rate is down 53% since 2000.
• Derailment rate is down 44% since 2000.
“Safety is a never-ending, constant pursuit for the freight rail industry,” said AAR President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger. “Our goal remains zero incidents and zero injuries, but it is still noteworthy that railroads today are the safest they have ever been. We see clear benefits of our investments, made possible through an economic regulatory framework that allows railroads to earn the revenues needed to invest $635 billion since partial deregulation [in 1980 under the Staggers Rail Act], and believe strongly in the application of new and transformative technologies.”
AAR noted that recent years have also been the safest in terms of employee on-duty injury rates. In 2016, the employee on-duty injury rate dropped by 1.8% relative to 2015. However, incidents at grade crossings rose by almost 5%, “an unfortunate circumstance tied partly to increased highway transportation and highway accidents nationwide,” AAR said. “Nonetheless, the freight rail industry believes that safety improvements support its goal to streamline government processes, incentivizing the FRA and other government entities to focus less on prescriptive steps and more on desired outcomes.”
“The freight rail industry believes there is a strong correlation between safety gains and the research, development and implementation of new technologies, as well as sustained private spending averaging $26 billion annually in recent years,” Hamberger noted. “From an advanced system that uses multidimensional ultrasonic technology to locate defects in tracks before they create problems, to the use of drones for track and bridge inspections, freight railroads are increasingly technology-focused. Such a dynamic environment requires flexible oversight, less focused on decades’ worth of mandates—inspections, tests, certifications—and more on the safety metrics the industry continues to meet. Operating a safe railroad is ultimately good business.”