U.S. railroads’ intermodal volumes up 6.2% in August

U.S. railroads’ intermodal volumes up 6.2% in August    The Association of American Railroads Thursday reported that intermodal traffic on U.S. railroads rose 6.2 percent in August to 1.25 million trailers and containers.
   Carload volume increased 1.1 percent to 1.7 million cars, the AAR said. Eight of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in August including: coal (up 6.3 percent to 715,844 carloads), metals and products (up 13.6 percent to 73,318 carloads), and grain (up 4.5 percent 112,390 carloads).
   “Rail traffic volumes reflect an economy that is growing at a moderate pace, but is a bit sticky in certain sectors,” said AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “Led by coal and intermodal, volume overall has significantly outpaced 2005 year-to-date, and railroads are working hard to serve the needs of their customers as safely, reliably, and efficiently as possible.”
   For the year to date, U.S. intermodal traffic increased 6.4 percent to 8.2 million units while carloads were up 1.5 percent to 11.8 million.
   Canadian intermodal traffic was up 5 percent in August to 231,906 units, and up 5.9 percent for the first eight months of 2006 to 1.57 million units.