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May Intermodal Traffic Rises 7.5%
Intermodal traffic in May rose 7.5% in May from a year ago, the 18th straight year-over-year gain, the Association of American Railroads said.
The weekly average of 233,239 units was the second-highest average for the month of May on record behind 2006, the group said.
Intermodal traffic rose 7.2% for the week ended June 4, led by a 7.8% increase in container traffic to 177,131 units, AAR said in a separate report. Trailers rose 3.4% to 28,434 units.
Railroad carloads rose 1.1% for the week, to 273,584 units. Carloads edged up 0.5% in May, to 1.16 million units.
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.
