Rail, Intermodal Fall for Week
Rail carload and intermodal freight fell last week compared with a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.
The freight decline was the 10th straight for intermodal and the ninth carload drop in the past 10 weeks, according to AAR figures.
Rail intermodal volume fell 3.1% to 236,313 trailers and contain-ers. Container volume edged up o.1%, but trailer volume plunged 13.8%. Rail carloads fell 5%.
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.
