Intermodal Traffic Rises 7.2% for Week
U.S. rail intermodal traffic rose 7.2% last week over the same week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.
Container traffic for the week ended Saturday rose 9.4% to 220,538 units, while trailer traffic dropped 7.2% to 28,693 units, the group said.
Railroad carloads, excluding intermodal, fell 3.4% to 274,700 units for the week, AAR said in its weekly report.
Six of the 20 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week last year, led by a 54.1% jump in petroleum products.
Weekly carload volume fell 4.7% in the East and 2.6% in the West, 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 shorter distances at either end of the trip.
