The latest numbers from the American Association of Railroads may bode well for te overall state of the economy. Considered an important economic indicator, railroad volume hit its second straight weekly high. Intermodal traffic was up more than 24 percent over the same week last year, while container traffic was up almost 3 percent compared to the same time period. U.S. railroad volume was up 6.2 percent from the same week last year, but 11 percent off the comparable week two years ago, AAR said in its weekly report. 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.

Weekly intermodal traffic hit a 2010 high for the second straight week, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.

Traffic for the week ended Saturday rose to 236,404 trailers and containers, up 24.2% from the same week last year and 2,367 units higher than the previous week.

Containers jumped 24.2% to 202,475 units, while trailers rose 12.4% to 33,929 units. The total level was 2.6% higher than the same week two years ago.

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