Rail carload and intermodal freight fell for the week ended June 30 compared with a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.
Rail intermodal volume dipped 0.6% to 240,446 trailers and containers, AAR said in its weekly report released Thursday. Container volume rose 2.3%, but trailer volume fell 9.8%.
Rail carload traffic totaled 336,105 cars, down 2.6% 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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