U.S. freight-rail traffic jumps 10.7% in Week 7

U.S. freight railroads hauled 507,712 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending Feb. 21, a 10.7% increase compared with traffic in the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Carloads totaled 227,124 for the week, a 17.6% increase, while intermodal volume totaled 280,588 containers and trailers, a 5.8% gain.

Nine of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks every week posted increases. Commodities that posted gains in traffic included coal, up 22.9% to 58,828 carloads; grain, up 49.7% to 24,463 carloads; and nonmetallic minerals, up 23.5% to 28,181. The commodity group that logged a decrease was forest products, down 1.6% to 8,242 carloads.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads logged 90,075 carloads for the week, up 14%, and 68,824 intermodal units, up 22.8%. Mexican railroads posted 13,637 carloads, down 2.8%, and 14,770 intermodal units, up 24.5%.

For the first seven weeks of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025:
• U.S. railroads reported cumulative rail traffic of 3,436,876 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.8%;
• Canadian railroads posted 1,106,192 carloads and intermodal units, up 2%; and
• Mexican railroads reported 187,294 carloads and intermodal units, up 23.5%.