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Intermodal Traffic Rises 5% for Week
Intermodal traffic rose 5% last week from the same week a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.
Traffic for the week ended Saturday totaled 220,187 trailers and containers. Container traffic rose 4.9% to 181,857 units and trailers rose 5.2% to 38,330 units.
U.S. railroads originated 271,709 carloads for the week, about the same as a year ago, AAR said in its weekly report Wednesday.
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.
