Intermodal Traffic Continues to Climb, Rising 8.9% for Week

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Rail intermodal traffic rose 8.9% last week but carload traffic fell 0.9% as overall volume reached its highest level this year, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.Intermodal volume jumped to 243,174 trailers and containers for the week ended Friday, the rail trade group said in its weekly report. Container volume gained 14% jump, while trailers declined 6.2%.AAR estimated total carload volume for the week was at 33.6 billion ton-miles, a 0.3% uptick from a year ago. 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.