Rail Freight Volume Drops for Second Week

May 26, 2005 3:15 PM, EDT

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ail freight traffic dropped for a second straight week but intermodal volume continued to climb compared with last year, the Association of American Railroads reported.

Total rail volume dropped 3.5% to 331,604 car loads year-over-year, the rail trade group said in its weekly industry report. AAR estimated total revenue ton-miles at 30.7 billion.

AAR cited a train accident that disrupted coal traffic out of Wyoming’s Powder River Basin as a key factor in the lower load rate.

ntermodal volume gained 3.1% for the week. Container volume rose 5.3% to 170,055 and trailer volume fell 3.3% to 54,851 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.