U.S. freight railroads post 3.4% traffic gain in Week 20

U.S. freight-rail traffic totaled 490,775 carloads, containers and trailers in the week ending May 17, a 3.4% increase compared with traffic logged in the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Carloads for the week totaled 229,226, a 7.1% increase, while containers and trailers totaled 261,549, a 0.3% increase.

Eight of the 10 carload commodity categories that AAR tracks weekly posted volume increases, including coal, up 17.5% to 59,207 carloads; miscellaneous, up 13.5% to 10,279; and grain, up 6% to 21,108.

The two commodity groups that logged decreases were forest products, down 3.2% to 7,937 carloads, and petroleum and petroleum products, down 0.5% to 10,274.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 92,712 carloads for the week, no change from last year, and 77,376 intermodal units, up 6.8%. Mexican railroads posted 16,542 carloads for the period, a 27.8% increase, and 10,548 intermodal units, a 9.6% increase.

During the first 20 weeks of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024:
• U.S. railroads reported a combined 4,354,843 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.2%;
• Canadian railroads posted 3,247,385 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.6%; and
• Mexican railroads logged 458,328 carloads and intermodal units, down 11.2%.