U.S. freight-rail traffic climbs 5.5% in Week 12

U.S. freight-rail traffic totaled 496,214 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending March 22, a 5.5% increase compared with volume in the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Carloads in the week totaled 224,904, up 4.5%, while intermodal volume reached 271,310 containers and trailers, up 6.3%.

Nine of the 10 carload commodity groups tracked by the AAR each week posted volume increases. They include coal, up 7% to 57,497 carloads; nonmetallic minerals, up 7.3% to 29,612; and metallic ores and metals, up 9.1% to 20,198. Forest products logged the only decrease: It declined 3.9% to 8,204 carloads.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 93,141 carloads for the week, up 1.8%, and 76,988 intermodal units, up 4.5%. Mexican railroads posted 15,629 carloads, down 9.7%, and 10,183 intermodal units, down 11.9%.

In the first 12 weeks of 2025 compared with traffic in the same period in 2024:

• U.S. railroads reported 5,802,711 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.2%;

• Canadian railroads posted 1,882,686 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.2%; and

• Mexican railroads logged 277,507 carloads and intermodal units, down 8.4%.