U.S. freight-rail traffic climbs 6% in Week 3

U.S. freight railroads hauled 481,708 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending Jan. 24, a 6% increase compared with traffic in the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Carloads totaled 214,784 for the week, a 13.7% increase, while intermodal volume totaled 266,924 containers and trailers, a 0.5% increase.

All 10 of the carload commodity groups that AAR tracks every week posted increases. Notable gains included coal, up 12.7% to 58,954 carloads; nonmetallic minerals, up 34.6% to 25,783; and chemicals, up 17.3% to 33,773.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads logged 88,348 carloads for the week, down 0.6%, and 66,285 intermodal units, down 1.4%. Mexican railroads posted 13,869 carloads, up 34.8%, and 14,664 intermodal units, up 41.3%.

For the first three weeks of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025:

• U.S. railroads reported cumulative rail traffic of 1,497,550 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.5%;

• Canadian railroads posted 474,435 carloads, containers and trailers, down 2%; and

• Mexican railroads reported 84,545 carloads and intermodal units, up 41.7%.