Rail, Intermodal Levels Fall
Rail carload and intermodal freight fell for the week ended Saturday compared with a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.
Rail intermodal volume dipped 2.3% to 240,002 trailers and containers, AAR said in its weekly report released Thursday. Container volume edged up 0.3%, but trailer volume plunged 11.1%.
Rail carload traffic totaled 339,670 cars, down 1.8% compared with a year ago.
The declines were the 14th straight for intermodal and the 13th carload downturn in the past 14 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.
