Storms Knock Back Rail Freight for Week, AAR Says

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urt by winter storms, rail freight traffic fell last week compared with the same week last year, though intermodal rose, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.

Total intermodal volume gained 2.5%, AAR said in its weekly report. Trailer volume fell 2% to 54,013 units, while container traffic rose 3.9% to 174,430.

Total rail carload traffic for the week ended Feb. 18 dove 6.3% to 321,728 carloads, the group said.

ailroad 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.