In 1909, for the first time the Bureau undertook to collect the information as to the tonnage of the main divisions of commodities carried. Its inquiries were limited to the tonnage originating on the several roads, and the next statement presents the results in comparison with the official figures for 1907, which are the last available:
| Tonnage and Proportion of Different Classes of Commodities Moved 1909 and 1907. | ||||
| 1909 | 1907 | |||
| Class of Commodity | Tonnage Reported as Originating on Line | Per Cent of Aggregate | Tonnage Reported as Originating on Line | Per Cent of Aggregate |
| Products of agriculture | 76,955,131 | 9.49 | 77,030,071 | 8.62 |
| Products of animals | 21,807,486 | 2.69 | 20,473,486 | 2.29 |
| Products of mines | 449,938,248 | 55.50 | 476,899,638 | 53.39 |
| Products of forests | 83,679,179 | 10.33 | 101,617,724 | 11.38 |
| Manufactures | 109,625,669 | 13.52 | 137,621,443 | 15.41 |
| Merchandise | 35,500,833 | 4.38 | 34,718,487 | 3.89 |
| Miscellaneous | 33,318,272 | 4.09 | 44,824,123 | 5.02 |
| Total | 810,784,818 | 100.00 | 893,184,972 | 100.00 |
| NOTE.—These tables fail to include nearly 200,000,000 tons unassigned. | ||||
The most significant feature of this statement is the marked decrease, absolutely and relatively, in the tonnage of manufactures carried. Great as was the decrease in the tonnage of animals carried there was an increase relatively.
The next statement shows the percentages of commodity tonnage moved since the Commission has compiled the information divided between low and high rate freight.
| Summary Showing Percentage of Freight Traffic Movement by Classes of Commodities, 1907 to 1899. | |||||||||
| Table headings: | |||||||||
| Col A: Products of Agriculture | |||||||||
| Col B: Animals | |||||||||
| Col C: Mines | |||||||||
| Col D: Forest | |||||||||
| Col E: Total | |||||||||
| Col F: Manufactures | |||||||||
| Col G: Merchandise | |||||||||
| Col H: Miscellaneous | |||||||||
| Col I: Total | |||||||||
| Year | Low Rate Freight Percentage of Aggregate | High Rate Freight Percentage of Aggregate | |||||||
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | |
| 1899 | 11.33 | 3.12 | 51.47 | 10.89 | 76.81 | 13.45 | 4.49 | 5.25 | 23.19 |
| 1900 | 10.35 | 2.87 | 52.59 | 11.61 | 77.42 | 13.41 | 4.26 | 4.91 | 22.58 |
| 1901 | 10.76 | 2.91 | 51.67 | 11.67 | 77.01 | 13.75 | 4.16 | 5.08 | 22.99 |
| 1902 | 9.23 | 2.64 | 52.36 | 11.64 | 75.87 | 14.49 | 4.37 | 5.27 | 24.13 |
| 1903 | 9.56 | 2.63 | 51.56 | 11.67 | 75.42 | 14.39 | 4.69 | 5.50 | 24.58 |
| 1904 | 9.59 | 2.74 | 51.56 | 12.53 | 76.42 | 13.41 | 4.83 | 5.34 | 23.58 |
| 1905 | 9.03 | 2.54 | 53.59 | 11.24 | 76.40 | 13.60 | 4.32 | 5.68 | 23.60 |
| 1906 | 8.56 | 2.32 | 53.09 | 11.24 | 75.21 | 14.81 | 4.06 | 5.92 | 24.79 |
| 1907 | 8.62 | 2.29 | 53.39 | 11.38 | 75.68 | 15.41 | 3.89 | 5.02 | 24.32 |
| 1908 | 8.74 | 2.46 | 55.72 | 11.35 | 78.27 | 13.15 | 4.04 | 4.54 | 21.73 |
| 1909 | 9.49 | 2.69 | 55.50 | 10.33 | 78.01 | 13.52 | 4.38 | 4.09 | 21.99 |
It will be observed that the percentage of low rate freight carried in 1909 was greater than for any other year covered by these statistics. This was due more to the falling off in manufactures and miscellaneous freight than to any increased movement of low class freight.
Car Service Operations.
What the Department of Commerce and Labor calls "a convenient index to the traffic activities of the country" is found in the following comparative statement of cars handled by the various car service associations and demurrage bureaus, 1905-1909.