Intermodal Traffic Jumps 21.2% for Week
Intermodal rail traffic jumped 21.2% last week, reaching the highest level since late 2008, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.
Traffic totaled 227,985 trailers and containers for the week ended Saturday, though that level was 0.2% lower than the same week two years ago.
Containers gained 23.2% to 194,621 units, while trailers rose 10.5% to 33,364 units, AAR said in its weekly report.
Freight rail traffic, which excludes intermodal traffic, rose 9.2% to 284,913 carloads.
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.
