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Rail and intermodal traffic declined last week compared with the same week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.

Intermodal traffic fell 3.3%, led by a 5.5% drop in trailer traffic to 49,721 units, AAR said. Containers fell 2.7% to 185,011 units.

Overall rail traffic fell 1.4% for the week ended Saturday to 331,402 carloads, the group said in its weekly report.

AAR estimated total volume at 35.2 billion ton-miles, down 0.6% from the same week last year.

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.