U.S. freight-rail traffic falls 2.4% in Week 36

U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Sept. 6 totaled 467,880 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.4% compared with traffic volume during the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week were 214,383, down 3.5%, while containers and trailers were 253,497, down 1.4%.

Three of the carload commodity groups tracked by the AAR each week posted increases. They were miscellaneous, up 15.3% to 8,512 carloads ; motor vehicles and parts, up 7.1% to 14,633; and forest products, up 3.8% to 7,801. Commodity groups that logged decreases included chemicals, down 8.8% to 29,802 carloads; coal, down 4.4% to 60,927; and grain, down 8% to 18,067 carloads.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads logged 85,891 carloads for the week, down 1.4%, and 66,397 intermodal units, up 0.8%. Mexican railroads transported 12,700 carloads for the week, up 26.9%, and 13,480 intermodal units, up 59%.

For the first 36 weeks of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024:

• U.S. railroads reported 17,688,490 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.3%;
• Canadian railroads posted 5,814,174 carloads, containers and trailers, up 2.2%; and
• Mexican railroads logged 845,650 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.5%.