Intermodal Volume Rises Slightly Following Holiday Week

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he Association of American Railroads said intermodal volume rose 1.2% to 211,228 trailers or containers in the week ended March 26.

Container volume rose 2.8% while trailers fell 3.1%, AAR said. It cited Good Friday, typically a railroad holiday, as a factor in the week's numbers.

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.

For the first 12 weeks of 2005, intermodal volume was 2.6 million trailers or containers, up 8.5% from last year, the rail trade group said.

Rail car loadings were 347,187 for the week, down 0.2% from the same week last year. AAR estimated total volume for the week was 31.9 billion ton-miles, up 0.6% from a year earlier.