Intermodal traffic increased 10.7% last week from a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.
Traffic increased to 222,788 units for the week ended Saturday, AAR said in its weekly report. Trailers rose 9.1% to 34,326 units, while containers gained 11% to 188,462 units.
Railroad carloads excluding intermodal showed a 2.3% gain to 293,772 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.