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Intermodal Traffic Declines for Week
Rail and intermodal traffic declined last week compared with the same week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.
Intermodal traffic for the week ended Saturday fell 4.1%, led by a 10% drop in trailer traffic to 48,335 units, AAR said. Containers fell 2.4% to 182,439 units.
Overall rail traffic fell 4.7% to 325,315 carloads, the group said in its weekly report. AAR estimated total volume at 34.5 billion ton-miles, down 3.9% from the same week 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.