Intermodal Traffic Rises for Week, Posts Record Weekly Average in May
U.S. rail intermodal traffic rose 3.7% last week from the same week a year ago and posted the highest weekly average for any May on record, the Association of American Railroads said.
Traffic for the week ended June 1 rose to 221,806 trailers and containers.
May intermodal traffic rose 3% to 1.2 million units over the same month last year; the weekly average was 242,823 units.
Railroad carloads rose 1.6% to 269,276 units for the week and increased 0.7% to 1.4 million for the month, the first year-over-year monthly total carload increase in 16 months, AAR said.
Railroad volume is considered an important economic indicator. Intermodal traffic, which tends to be higher-value merchandise than bulk commodities, uses trains for the long haul and trucks for shorter distances at either end of the trip.
