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FREIGHT RAILROADS

BACKGROUND

In 2000, the railroad freight industry generated $36.3 billion in revenue. Eight major railroad systems accounted for 91 percent of that total. The railroad industry set a new high for freight traffic of 1.47 trillion revenue ton-miles (a unit of measurement that incorporates both weight and distance), up 2 percent from 1999.

Structure. In 2000, there were 8 Class I freight railroad systems--systems with annual operating revenue of approximately $262 million or more-operating in the United States, 35 regional railroads (line-haul railroads operating at least 350 miles of road and/or earning revenue between $40 million and the Class I threshold), and over 500 local railroads (line-haul railroads smaller than regional railroads.

While Class I employment has fallen 20 percent since 1990, regional railroad employment has been fairly level and local railroad employment has declined by 14 percent.