Intermodal Traffic Jumps 22.9% for Week
U.S. intermodal traffic jumped 22.9% for the week ended Saturday from a year ago, the Association of American Railroads reported.
Container traffic soared 24.7% to 186,225 units, while trailer traffic fell 13.7% to 31,727 units, AAR said in its weekly report.
Unlike last year, this year’s holiday week did not include Christmas.
Railroad carloads excluding intermodal rose 11.9% to 287,137 units, AAR said.
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.
