Rail, Intermodal Traffic Drop
Rail carload and intermodal freight traffic declined from a year ago for the week ended Saturday, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.
Rail intermodal volume declined 4.3% year-over-year to 238,270 trailers and containers, AAR said in its weekly report.
Container volume fell 2% to 188,674 units, while trailer volume dropped 11.9% to 49,596.
Rail carload traffic totaled 338,364 cars, down 1.5% 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.