Rail, Intermodal Volume Gain at Year’s End

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

ail freight traffic jumped for the next-to-last week of 2005 compared with last year, the Association of American Railroads reported, but one transportation industry analyst discounted the numbers because last year’s figures included Christmas.

Total rail carload traffic for the week ended Dec. 24 was up 17.1% over last year, while intermodal volume for the week jumped 32.1%, AAR said in its weekly report.

Analyst Ed Wolfe of Bear Stearns wrote in a note to clients that the comparative figures from last year included Christmas, which weighed down last year’s figures.

For the previous week ended Dec. 17, rail carload traffic was down 2% year-over-year, while intermodal volume rose 2.8%, AAR said. Intermodal trailer volume rose 4.2% to 67,266 units, while containers gained 2.2% to 167,800.

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.