Intermodal Traffic Falls 14.7% for Week
Intermodal traffic fell 14.7% for the week of April compared with the same week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.
Traffic fell to 188,351 units, led by a 34% plunge in trailers to 32,337 units, AAR said in its weekly report Thursday. Container volume fell 9% to 152,508 units.
Rail carload traffic fell 20.5% to 252,065 units. In addition to the slow economy, AAR pinned the down week on bad weather in Wyoming and the Upper Midwest.
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.
