U.S. freight-rail traffic falls 2.2% in Week 38

U.S. freight railroads hauled 510,677 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending Sept. 20, a 2.2% decrease compared with traffic levels in the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Carloads in the week totaled 228,609, down 1.8%, while intermodal volume reached 282,068 containers and trailers, down 2.5%.

Two of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks every week posted increases. They were grain, up 10.3% to 23,147 carloads; and metallic ores and metals, up 1.9% to 20,358.

Commodity groups that posted decreases included coal, down 4.9% to 60,029 carloads; miscellaneous, down 16% to 8,634; and nonmetallic minerals, down 2.3% to 31,402. 

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads logged 89,916 carloads for the week, down 2.8%, and 72,704 intermodal units, up 4.2%. Mexican railroads posted 11,954 carloads for the week, down 13.1%, and 12,006 intermodal units, down 0.2%.

For the first 38 weeks of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024:

• U.S. railroads logged 18,713,334 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3%;

• Canadian railroads reported 6,140,957 carloads, containers and trailers, up 2.1%; and

• Mexican railroads posted 894,870 carloads, containers and trailers, a gain of 7.5%.