Rail, Intermodal Levels Decline
Rail carload and intermodal freight fell for the week ended Saturday compared with a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.
Rail intermodal volume declined 3.1% to 238,957 trailers and containers, AAR said in its weekly report.
Container volume slipped 0.6%, while trailer volume plunged 11.9%. Rail carloads fell 5.6%.
The declines were the 13th straight for intermodal and the 12th carload downturn in the past 13 weeks, according to AAR figures.
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.
