Weekly North American pulp and paper rail freight off 1.8%; lumber up 6.2%

By James McLaren, Senior Editor, PPI Pulp & Paper Week, RISI

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 27, 2012 (RISI) - North American pulp and paper rail freight for the week ending Jan. 21 was down 1.8% from a year ago to 9,420 carloads, the Assn of American Railroads reported. Volume through three weeks of 2012 at 28,579 carloads was 2.3% lower than in 2011.

US pulp and paper freight for the week was up 1.6%, Canada dropped 7% and Mexico was 28.8% lower, AAR showed.

North American lumber and wood products freight for the week was up 6.2% from last year and through three weeks was 10.1% higher.

Primary forest products carloads were down 6.9% in the week and were 2.1% higher year-to-date.