Rail Freight, Intermodal Rise Despite Hurricane

.S. railroad freight traffic rose for week ended Sept. 3 despite damage caused to rail lines by Hurricane Katrina, the Association of American Railroads said.

Overall rail freight traffic rose 0.2% for the week, to 339,469 carloads, while intermodal traffic jumped 7.1% compared with the same week last year, AAR said in its weekly report.

Intermodal container volume rose 7.8% to 174,989 units, while trailers rose 5.2% to 60,233, the group said.

For the month of August, rail traffic rose 0.5% over August 2004, while intermodal was 7.2% higher than last year’s level, AAR said.

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.