Intermodal Traffic Rises for Week
Intermodal rail traffic increased 19.2% last week compared with a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.
Traffic totaled 230,443 trailers and containers for the week ended Saturday, though that level was 2.1% lower than the same week two years ago, AAR said in its weekly report Thursday.
Containers gained 21.1% to 197,075 units, while trailers rose 9.3% to 33,368 units, AAR said in its weekly report.
Freight rail traffic, which excludes intermodal traffic, rose 4.7% to 286,854 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.
