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Rail, Intermodal Traffic Fall in November
Rail and intermodal traffic fell sharply in November from a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.
Intermodal traffic for the month fell 7.9% to 851,517 trailers and containers, 72,978 fewer than last November, AAR said. Rail traffic fell 10.1%.
These drops are the largest monthly declines since AAR began recording traffic in 1997, the association said.
For the week ended Saturday, intermodal traffic decreased 27.4%, led by a 34% decline in trailer traffic. Container traffic dropped 25.5%.
Rail traffic saw large decreases last week as well, losing 26.5% of the carloads compared to last year.
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.