U.S. freight rail traffic dips 0.7% in Week 33

U.S. freight railroads hauled 512,970 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending Aug. 16, a 0.7% decrease compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Carloads for the week totaled 228,884, down 0.9%, while intermodal units totaled 284,086 containers and trailers, down 0.6%.

Only two of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks weekly posted increases. They were coal, up 2.9% to 63,878 carloads, and forest products, up 2.2% to 8,236. Commodity groups that posted decreases included miscellaneous, down 13.6% to 7,881 carloads; metallic ores and metals, down 4.6% to 19,559; and grain, down 3.1% to 20,981.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 79,619 carloads for the week, down 8.1%, and 71,459 intermodal units, up 3.6%. Mexican railroads posted 11,687 carloads, down 22.8%, and 10,123 intermodal units, down 23.3%.

For the first 33 weeks of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024:

• U.S. railroads logged 16,186,775 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.6%;

• Canadian railroads posted 5,345,939 carloads, containers and trailers, up 1.5%; and

• Mexican railroads reported 763,186 carloads and intermodal units, down 8.9%.