Rail, Intermodal Traffic Fall
Rail carload and intermodal traffic fell for last the first week of 2008 compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads said.
Intermodal traffic plunged 13.1% to 163,801 trailers and containers, AAR said in its weekly report released Thursday.
Container volume fell 12.6% to 130,083 units, while trailers plunged 15% to 33,718 units.
Overall rail carload traffic fell 3.2% from a year ago to 277,741 carloads, the group 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.