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Intermodal Traffic Jumps for Week
Rail and intermodal traffic jumped last week from the same week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.
Intermodal traffic for the week ended Saturday rose 15.1%, led by an 15.4% increase in container traffic to 172,358 units, AAR said. Trailers increased 13.9% to 47,956 units.
Overall rail traffic rose 6.6% to 309,109 carloads, and AAR estimated total volume at 32.9 billion ton-miles, up 7.5% 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.