Rail, Intermodal Traffic Rise for Week
Rail carload and intermodal traffic both rose last week from the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.
The year-to-year increase turned around a general trend this year of lower volumes, according to AAR figures.
Rail intermodal volume rose 1.4% to 243,842 trailers and containers, AAR said in its weekly report.
Container volume rose 2.8% to 188,323 units, while trailer volume fell 3.3% to 55,519 units.
Overall rail carload traffic gained 4.5% from a year ago to 349,431 carloads, 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.