April 8, 2005 8:00 AM, EDT

Intermodal Falls Slightly For Week Ended April 2

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ntermodal volume fell 0.1% for the week ended April 2, the Association of American Railroads reported.

Rail intermodal volume fell to 210,260 trailers or containers from the same week last year, AAR said. Container volume rose 2.7% while trailers fell 7.7%, the rail trade group said in its weekly report.

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.

Intermodal traffic for the month of March was up 3% from 2004, AAR said.

Overall rail car loadings for the week ended April 2 rose 1.6% from the same week last year, up 5.7% in the West and down 3.4% in the East.

AAR estimated total volume for the week was 32.3 billion ton-miles, up 2.2% from a year earlier.