Intermodal Traffic Falls for Week
Rail and intermodal traffic fell sharply last week from the same week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.
Intermodal traffic for the week ended Saturday fell 6.3%, led by an 11.2% drop in trailer traffic to 48,658 units, AAR said. Containers fell 4.9% to 179,974 units.
Overall rail traffic fell 8.4% to 314,433 carloads, and AAR estimated total volume at 33.5 billion ton-miles, down 7.2% from 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.
