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 0.7% to 192,516 trailers and containers, AAR said in its weekly report released late Thursday. Container volume rose 1.4%, while trailer volume fell 7.9%.
Rail carload traffic totaled 282,888 cars, down 3.6% from a year ago.
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.
