U.S. freight-rail traffic slides 5.1% in Week 8

U.S. freight railroads hauled 458,513 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending Feb. 22, a 5.1% decrease compared with the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Carloads for the week totaled 193,252 units, down 13.6%, while intermodal volume was 265,261 containers and trailers, up 2.3%.

One of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks weekly posted an increase: Chemical carloads rose 0.2% to 33,527. Commodity groups that posted decreases included coal, down 21.6% to 47,852 carloads; grain, down 24.6% to 16,374; and nonmetallic minerals, down 17.3% to 22,827 carloads.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads logged 78,789 carloads for the week, down 16.6%, and 56,127 intermodal units, down 19.1%. Mexican railroads posted 16,125 carloads during the week, down 13.2%, and 12,987 intermodal units, up 1.6%.

For the first eight weeks of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024:

• U.S. railroads reported 3,797,081 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.4%;

• Canadian railroads logged 1,226,576 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.6%; and

• Mexican railroads posted 183,636 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 8.3%.