Freight Commodity Statistics

Freight Commodity Statistics, Class I Steam Railways... 

The Interstate Commerce Commission s freight commodity statistics would appear to be of greatest interest to the chemical industry, in that they show, with certain limitations, the transportation service rendered by the railroads to the chemical and allied products industry (as defined), measuring that service in number of cars and tons of freight transported and the freight revenue the railroads receive for such transportation service. 

The brief description of these freight commodity statistics, which follows, also indicates the changes (and effective dates) that have occurred since these statistics were inaugurated. 

Table V. Instructions and Definitions Applying to Reporting of Freight Commodity Statistics to Interstate Commerce Commission...

In order properly to use and interpret the freight commodity statistics, certain instructions and definitions of the Interstate Commerce Commission should be kept in mind. These definitions are reproduced in Table V. 

Certain tables in the annual tabulation of Freight Commodity Statistics published by the ICC are also reconunended because they show such statistics as tons per car by commodities, revenue per ton by commodities, and relative importance of the various commodities. Table VI gives the titles of th ese tables. 

While the freight commodity statistics may sometimes be used in connection with national production figures, such uses should always be made with caution. Railroad freight commodity statistics are not intended to reflect commercial production, but only to show the tonnage of the specified commodity classes offered for rail transportation. 

When commodity statistics of railroads in a particular area, district, or region are combined, they point up the peculiar production and traffic characteristics of areas which may have a bearing on such matters as freight car distribution. When the annual statistics of all railroads in the country are combined, a comprehensive picture of the producing and consuming areas is obtained as well as a clearer understanding of the vital part played by railroad transportation in the economic life of the nation. 

The Bureau of Transport Economics and Statistics of the Interstate Commerce Commission is responsible for the freight statistics on commodities which can be used in various ways by the chemical industry. Since 1947, the bureau has had data, on a sample basis, of terminated traffic by commodity breakdowns. Issued quarterly, the Group V statistics titled Manufactures and Miscellaneous include numerous chemicals and chemical products. Number of carloads and tons are reported for Class I steam railways in the United States. Although no longer published, the state statistics by origination, destination, and commodity were useful data. Collection and publication of these figures were discontinued in January 1952. 

These waybills are processed by the commission to provide information for a continuing analysis of the flow of traffic by commodities, type of rate, average haul, and average revenue per ton-mile. Some 120 statements have been released by the commission s Bureau of Transport Economics and Statistics, based on the 1% sample of waybills covering the movements of carload freight. As illustrated, Table IV shows the kind of information that is available on commodity classes of interest to the chemical and allied prpducts industry. Such data are, of course, subject to the infirmities inherent to any 1% sample. 

Tables 4, 5, and 6 consist of computed averages derived from the basic statistics. These averages include tons per car originated, revenue per ton originated and terminated, by commodity classes, and also the ratio of tons carried and freight revenue in the major product groups to the grand totals for all traffic handled. The ratios serve to show the relative importance of the various major commodity classes.

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