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January 20, 2006 11:40 AM, EST

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ail freight traffic and intermodal shipments rose for the second week of the year compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.

Total intermodal volume soared 12.3%, AAR said in its weekly report. Trailer volume rose 5.2% to 57,062 units, while container traffic spiked 14.8% to 182,650.

Total rail carload traffic for the week ended Jan. 14 also rose, gaining 4.4% from last year to 340,539 carloads, the group said. It estimated volume at 33.1 billion ton-miles, 6.4% over the same week last year.

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.