U.S. freight-rail traffic rises in week 39

U.S. freight railroads hauled 529,712 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending Oct. 3, up 5.1% compared with traffic from the same week in 2025, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Carloads for the week totaled 230,711, up 2.4%, while weekly intermodal volume totaled 299,001 containers and trailers, up 7.4%.

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups tracked by the AAR each week posted gains. They included metallic ores and metals, up 12.8% to 23,387; coal, up 2.9% to 58,163; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 12.2% to 11,804.

Commodity groups that posted carload decreases were grain, down 5.2% to 21,170; farm products excluding grain, and food, down 4.1% to 16,935; and chemicals, down 0.1% to 32,891.

For the week, Canadian railroads reported 92,532 carloads, down 0.8%, and 73,192 intermodal units, up 0.7%. Mexican railroads posted 11,825 carloads, up 6.4%, and 14,179 intermodal units, up 36.7%.

For the first 38 weeks of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025:

• U.S. railroads posted 19,988,290 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.5%;
• Canadian railroads reported 6,418,077 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.3%; and
• Mexican railroads logged 993,284 carloads and intermodal units, up 7.2%.