Intermodal Rail Traffic Rises 9.9% in March
Intermodal rail volume for March rose 9.9% compared with the same time last year, the Association of American Railroads reported.
Intermodal volume rose to slightly above 1 million units in February, the 52st consecutive year-over-year monthly increase, AAR said.
“U.S. rail traffic rebounded strongly in March 2014 following a subpar February. Grain led the way, as railroads are working hard to move the biggest grain harvest in history,” AAR Senior Vice President John Gray said in a statement.
“March also demonstrated that we have every reason to be optimistic that 2014 will break 2013’s intermodal volume record,” Gray said.
Eleven of the 20 categories tracked by AAR posted increases in March from the prior year, led by grain (21.2%).
Intermodal volume for the week increased 13.5% to 265,188 year-over-year, the rail trade group said.
For the first 13 weeks of the year, U.S. railroads moved 3.2 million intermodal containers and trailers, up 3.8% from last year.
