Intermodal Traffic Rises for Week, Posts Record Weekly Average in May
U.S. rail intermodal traffic rose 3.7% last week from the same week a year ago and posted the highest weekly average for any May on record, the Association of American Railroads said.
Traffic for the week endedÌýJune 1Ìýrose to 221,806 trailers and containers.
May intermodal traffic rose 3% to 1.2 million units over the same month last year; the weekly average was 242,823 units.
Railroad carloads rose 1.6% to 269,276 units for the week and increased 0.7% to 1.4 million for the month, the first year-over-year monthly total carload increase in 16 months, AAR said.
Railroad volume is considered an important economic indicator. Intermodal traffic, which tends to be higher-value merchandise than bulk commodities, uses trains for the long haul and trucks for shorter distances at either end of the trip.
