Intermodal traffic increased 9.8% last week from a year ago, the Association of American Railroads reported.
Traffic rose to 230,460 units for the week ended Saturday, AAR said in its weekly report. Trailers rose 7.9% to 33,754 units, while containers increased 10.1% to 196,706 units.
Railroad carloads excluding intermodal showed a 0.3% decrease to 295,426 carloads, AAR said.
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.