Rail, Intermodal Levels Rise in Last Week of May
ail freight traffic rebounded in the last week of May, turning around two weeks of declines, and intermodal levels continued to rise, the Association of American Railroads reported.
Total rail volume increased 1.3% to 350,870 car loads year-over-year for the week ended May 28, the rail trade group said in its weekly industry report. AAR estimated total revenue ton-miles at 32.7 billion.
Rail intermodal volume gained 3.6% for the week. Container volume rose 5.7% to 165,844 units while trailer volume dropped 2.3% to 56,379 units, 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.
