AAR reports rail traffic for the week ending August 16, 2025

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending August 16, 2025.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 512,970 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.7 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending August 16 were 228,884 carloads, down 0.9 percent compared with the same week in 2024, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 284,086 containers and trailers, down 0.6 percent compared to 2024.

Two of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2024. They were coal, up 1,807 carloads, to 63,878; and forest products, up 181 carloads, to 8,236. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2024 included miscellaneous carloads, down 1,236 carloads, to 7,881; metallic ores and metals, down 940 carloads, to 19,559; and grain, down 665 carloads, to 20,981.

For the first 33 weeks of 2025, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 7,284,620 carloads, up 2.7 percent from the same point last year; and 8,902,155 intermodal units, up 4.4 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 33 weeks of 2025 was 16,186,775 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.6 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending August 16, 2025, on 9 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 320,190 carloads, down 3.8 percent compared with the same week last year, and 365,668 intermodal units, down 0.6 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 685,858 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.1 percent. North American rail volume for the first 33 weeks of 2025 was 22,295,900 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.6 percent compared with 2024.

Canadian railroads reported 79,619 carloads for the week, down 8.1 percent, and 71,459 intermodal units, up 3.6 percent compared with the same week in 2024. For the first 33 weeks of 2025, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,345,939 carloads, containers and trailers, up 1.5 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 11,687 carloads for the week, down 22.8 percent compared with the same week last year, and 10,123 intermodal units, down 23.3 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 33 weeks of 2025 was 763,186 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 8.9 percent from the same point last year.