Rail carload and intermodal freight continued a downward trend compared with a year ago, as year-over-year levels fell for the week ended Saturday, the Association of American Railroads said.
Rail intermodal volume fell 3.2% to 239,286 trailers and containers, AAR said in its weekly report. Container volume fell 0.8%, while trailer volume dropped 11.6%.
Rail carload traffic totaled 321,232 cars, down 2.2% 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.
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