Intermodal Rail Traffic Rises to Highest Level on Record
AARU.S. rail intermodal traffic rose to the highest level on record for the week ended June 13, the Association of American Railroads reported.
Intermodal traffic increased 4.9% from the same week last year to 283,363 intermodal trailers and containers, AAR announced June 17 in its weekly report.
The rise follows a 4.3% increase the prior week.
Rail carload volume, which excludes intermodal units, dropped 8.1% year-over-year to 271,098 carloads. The last carload increase was the week of April 18, when volume rose 1.2%.
Four of the 10 commodity groups tracked by AAR posted an increase in traffic for the week, led by miscellaneous products at 10.4%.
Intermodal volume for 13 reporting North American railroads increased 5.3% to 357,942 trailers and containers. North American carload volume, excluding intermodal, declined 9.7% to 361,533.
Canadian railroads moved 63,612 intermodal units, a 7.5% rise. Mexican rail moved 16,780 units, a 1.5% increase from the same time last year.
Year to date, U.S. intermodal volume increased 2.2% to 6 million units.
For the first 23 weeks of the year, carloads declined 3.4% to 6.3 million from the same time last year, according to AAR.
