Rail Intermodal Volume Rises to Highest Level in 10 Weeks
Rail intermodal volume increased to the highest level in 10 weeks, according to a report by the Association of American Railroads.
Intermodal traffic for the week ended Aug. 15 increased 2.3% to 276,443 containers compared with the same week last year, AAR said Aug. 18 in its weekly report.
Volume rose to the highest level since the week of June 13, when rails moved 283,363 intermodal containers. The rise follows a 3.1% increase the prior week.
Rail carload volume for the week, which excludes intermodal units, dropped 5.2% year-over-year to 288,059 carloads.
Four of the 10 commodity groups AAR tracks increased for the week from the same time last year, including miscellaneous carloads at 16.8% and grain at 9.6%. For the week, metallic ores and metals declined 15.4% to 106,339 units.
Total North American intermodal volume increased 2.3% to 352,114 units for the week. Canadian railroads moved 64,361 intermodal units, a 3.6% increase.
Railroads in Mexico moved 11,310 intermodal containers, a 3.3% decline, according to AAR.
For the first 33 weeks of the year, U.S. intermodal traffic increased 2.5% to 8.5 million units from the same period in 2014.
