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August 5, 2005 8:10 AM, EDT

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verall rail freight traffic rose 1.3% for the week ended July 30 compared with the same week last year, and intermodal volume continued to increase at a greater rate, the Association of American Railroads said.

Intermodal volume rose 5.9%, the rail trade group said in its weekly report. Container volume rose 7.9% to 177,110 units, while trailer levels rose 0.1%, to 57,248 units.

Total rail volume rose to 342,800 car loads for the week over the same week last year, AAR said.

AAR estimated total revenue ton-miles for the week at 33.8 billion, up 2.4% from last year. For the month of July, carload freight rose 1%, and intermodal traffic rose 5.1%.

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.