Rail, Intermodal Traffic Drop for Week
Rail and intermodal traffic continued declined for the week ended Saturday from a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.
Rail intermodal volume dropped 3.2% year-over-year to 242,871 trailers and containers, AAR said in its weekly report.
Container volume dipped 2% to 189,234 units, while trailer volume fell 7% to 53,637 units.
Overall rail carload traffic totaled 336,315 carloads, downÌý0.3% from a year ago, the group said.
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.