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Intermodal Traffic Falls 1.1%
Rail intermodal traffic fell 1.1% for the week ended Saturday compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads said.
Container traffic fell 2.4% to 180,686 units from a year ago, while trailer traffic rose 4% to 49,283 units, AAR said in its weekly rail traffic report Thursday.
Overall rail carload traffic improved 5% for the week, led by bulk commodities, to 337,103 carloads, the group said.
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.