Carload and intermodal volumes were up for the week ending March 15, according to data released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) this week.
Carloads—at 289,375—were up 3.1 percent annually and ahead of the week ending March 8 at 274,480 and the week ending March 1 at 287,294.
Intermodal was up 11.9 percent at 255,991 containers and trailers and topped the week ending March 8 at 244,015 and the week ending March 1 at 257,710
Of the ten main commodity groups tracked by the AAR, seven saw annual increases for the week ending March 15. Grain was up 21 percent, and motor vehicles and parts were down 8 percent.
For the first 11 weeks of 2014, carloads are flat annually at 3,009,897, and intermodal is up 2.3 percent at 2,677,098 trailers and containers.