U.S. freight railroads post 5.4% traffic gain in Week 10

U.S. freight-rail traffic for the week ending March 8 totaled 497,412 carloads and intermodal units, a  5.4% increase compared with volume in the same week a year ago, according to the Association of American Railroads data.

Carloads for the week totaled 219,457, up 2.6%, while intermodal volume reached 277,955 containers and trailers, up 7.7% .

Five of the 10 carload commodity groups tracked by the AAR weekly posted volume increases for the week. They include coal, up 5.1% to 57,977 carloads; grain, up 12.5% to 21,710; and miscellaneous carloads, up 14.3% to 8,897 carloads.

Commodity groups that logged decreases include metallic ores and minerals, down 4.6% to 17,939 carloads; chemicals, down 2% to 33,079; and forest products, down 2% to 8,188 carloads.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 91,042 carloads for the week, up 1.6%, and 70,776 intermodal units, down 1.2%. Mexican railroads posted 15,896 carloads for the week, down 4.1%, and 11,086 intermodal units, down 3%.

Cumulative traffic for the first 10 weeks of 2025 compared with the same week in 2024:

•  U.S. railroads reported 4,803,024 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.8% rise; 

•  Canadian railroads posted 1,546,446 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.6%; and

•  Mexican railroads logged 225,119 carloads and intermodal units, down 8.6%.