U.S. freight-rail traffic mostly flat in Week 13

U.S. freight railroads hauled 501,328 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending April 4, up 0.1% compared with total traffic from the same week in 2025, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Carloads for the week reached 229,243, up 1%, while weekly intermodal volume totaled 272,085 containers and trailers, down 0.6%.

Six of the 10 carload commodity groups tracked by the AAR each week posted an increase in traffic compared to the same week in 2025. Notable gainers include grain, up 7.6% to 25,052; chemicals, up 4.5% to 34,933; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 13.3% to 10,734 carloads.

Commodity groups that posted decreases include coal, down 4.2% to 56,069; metallic ores and metals, down 5.4% to 19,743; and nonmetallic minerals, down 2.1% to 31,102 carloads.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 92,179 carloads for the week, down 0.7%, and 70,143 intermodal units, down 2.6%. Mexican railroads posted 12,730 carloads, up 75.3%, and 12,855 intermodal units, up 79.5%.

For the first 13 weeks of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025:

• U.S. railroads hauled 6,496,839 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.6%;
• Canadian railroads reported 2,094,505 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.7%; and
• Mexican railroads logged 343,315 carloads and intermodal units, up 13.4%.