Intermodal Traffic Gains 1.9% for Week
U.S. rail intermodal traffic rose 1.9% last week over the same week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.
Container traffic for the week ended Saturday rose 4.8% to 171,603 units, but trailer traffic fell 15.3% to 22,935 units, AAR said.
Railroad carloads — excluding intermodal — fell 4.6% to 252,931 units for the week, AAR said in its weekly report.
Railroad volume is considered an important economic indicator. Intermodal traffic, which tends to be higher-valued merchandise than bulk commodities, uses trains for the long haul and trucks for the shorter distance at either end of the trip.