Weekly U.S. rail freight was narrowly lower in the latest data as intermodal traffic weighed down carload gains.
Total freight was off 1.2% for the week ended Oct. 11 from the previous week, according to the Association of American Railroads, as a 1.2% improvement in carloads was offset by intermodal containers and trailers that slipped 3.3%.
Five of 10 carload commodity groups tracked by AAR finished ahead of the same week in 2024, led by nonmetallic minerals, 6.5%; motor vehicles and parts, 3.5%, and petroleum and related products, 2.4%.
Decreases were led by metallic ores and metals, 4.2%, while forest products and grain were off by 0.7% and 0.4%.
Through the first 41 weeks of this year, U.S. railroads handled cumulative volume of 9.1 million carloads, up 2.1% y/y, and 11.13 million intermodal units, up 3.4%. Year-to-date total combined U.S. traffic was 20.23 million carloads and intermodal units, better by 2.8% y/y.
North American rail volume for the week on nine reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 333,005 carloads, up 1.5% from a year ago, and 359,462 intermodal units, lower by 0.8%. Total combined traffic was 692,467 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.3%. Volume for the first 41 weeks of 2025 was 27.84 million carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 2.3% y/y.
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Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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