Intermodal Traffic Rises 6% for Week

U.S. intermodal traffic increased 6% for the week ended Saturday from a year ago, the Association of American Railroads said.

Container traffic rose 7.9% to 196,782 units, while trailer traffic fell 3.3% to 36,540 units.

Railroad carloads excluding intermodal jumped 11.7% year-over-year to 304,377 units, AAR said in its weekly report.

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.