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Rail, Intermodal Traffic Fall for Week
Rail and intermodal traffic both declined for the week ended Saturday compared with a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.
Intermodal traffic fell 6.1%, led by a 6.3% drop in container traffic to 186,856 units, AAR said in its weekly report. Trailers fell 5.4% to 50,021 units.
Overall rail traffic dipped 2.4% for the week, to 329,836 carloads 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.