The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 8, 2025.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 497,412 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.4 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending March 8 were 219,457 carloads, up 2.6 percent compared with the same week in 2024, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 277,955 containers and trailers, up 7.7 percent compared to 2024.
Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2024. They included coal, up 2,815 carloads, to 57,977; grain, up 2,414 carloads, to 21,710; and miscellaneous carloads, up 1,114 carloads, to 8,897. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2024 included metallic ores and metals, down 868 carloads to 17,939; chemicals, down 675 carloads to 33,079; and forest products, down 171 carloads to 8,188.
For the first 10 weeks of 2025, U.S. railroads reported a cumulative volume of 2,088,739 carloads, down 1.5 percent from the same point last year, and 2,714,285 intermodal units, up 8.4 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 10 weeks of 2025 was 4,803,024 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.8 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending March 8, 2025, on 9 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 326,395 carloads, up 2.0 percent compared with the same week last year, and 359,817 intermodal units, up 5.5 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 686,212 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.8 percent. North American rail volume for the first 10 weeks of 2025 was 6,574,589 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.3 percent compared with 2024.
Canadian railroads reported 91,042 carloads for the week, up 1.6%, and 70,776 intermodal units, down 1.2 percent compared with the same week in 2024. For the first ten weeks of 2025, Canadian railroads reported a cumulative rail traffic volume of 1,546,446 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.6 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 15,896 carloads for the week, down 4.1 percent compared with the same week last year, and 11,086 intermodal units, down 3.0 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first ten weeks of 2025 was 225,119 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 8.6 percent from the same point last year.
