Week 30 was a good one traffic-wise for North American railroads

U.S. railroads had a decent traffic haul in July’s last full week. For the week ending July 26, they registered 514,279 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.1% year over year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data. 

Carloads totaled 231,029 units, up 0.9%, while intermodal volume totaled 283,250 containers and trailers, up 1.3%. 

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups tracked by the AAR posted year-over-year gains, including grain (up 6.2% to 22,108 carloads); coal (up 1.6% to 62,386 carloads); and motor vehicles and parts (up 3.1% to 15,306 carloads). 

The decliners were farm products excluding grain and food, nonmetallic minerals and metallic ores/metals, each of which posted small decreases. 

For the week, Canadian railroads reported 86,414 carloads, up 2.2%, and 73,206 intermodal units, up 14.1% compared with the same 2024 period. Mexican railroads registered 15,022 carloads, up 21.5%, and 10,582 intermodal units, down 2.2% 

Through 2025’s first 30 weeks, U.S. railroads logged 14,649,082 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.8%, while Canadian and Mexican railroads reported a total of 4,874,958 units and 718,717 units, up 1.5% and down 5.7%, respectively, versus the same 2024 period. 

Total North American rail volume through 30 weeks reached 20,242,757 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.9% year over year.