U.S. freight-rail traffic climbs 7.2% in Week 21

U.S. freight railroads hauled 492,795 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending May 30, up 7.2% compared with total traffic from the same week in 2025, according to Association of American Railroads.

Carloads for the week reached 228,346, up 4%, while weekly intermodal volume totaled 264,449 containers and trailers, up 10%.

Seven 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 33.8% to 26,529; miscellaneous carloads, up 20.2% to 9,343; and metallic ores and metals, up 19.5% to 24,329 carloads.

Commodity groups that posted decreases include coal, down 9% to 54,722; petroleum and petroleum products, down 3.4% to 10,256; and nonmetallic minerals, down 2.4% to 29,826 carloads.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 94,408 carloads for the week, up 3.5%, and 74,786 intermodal units, down 3.8%. Mexican railroads posted 14,166 carloads, down 18.4%, and 14,467 intermodal units, up 20.5%.

For the first 21 weeks of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025:

• U.S. railroads hauled 10,576,911 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.5%;
• Canadian railroads reported 3,453,962 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.6%; and
• Mexican railroads logged 537,111 carloads and intermodal units, up 8.9%.