AAR reports rail traffic for the week ending January 25, 2025

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending January 25, 2025.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 454,797 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.5 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending January 25 were 189,125 carloads, down 8.8 percent compared with the same week in 2024, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 265,672 containers and trailers, up 2.5 percent compared to 2024.

One of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2024. It was farm products excl. grain, and food, up 368 carloads, to 16,180. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2024 included nonmetallic minerals, down 4,112 carloads, to 19,173; coal, down 4,109 carloads, to 52,514; and metallic ores and metals, down 3,304 carloads, to 16,218.

For the first four weeks of 2025, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 803,593 carloads, up 0.3 percent from the same point last year; and 1,038,164 intermodal units, up 10.9 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first four weeks of 2025 was 1,841,757 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 6.0 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending January 25, 2025, on 9 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 292,415 carloads, down 4.9 percent compared with the same week last year, and 344,988 intermodal units, up 2.7 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 637,403 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.0 percent. North American rail volume for the first four weeks of 2025 was 2,566,095 carloads and intermodal units, up 6.8 percent compared with 2024.

Canadian railroads reported 88,763 carloads for the week, up 1.9 percent, and 67,323 intermodal units, down 0.2 percent compared with the same week in 2024. For the first four weeks of 2025, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 626,350 carloads, containers and trailers, up 8.1 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 14,527 carloads for the week, up 10.6 percent compared with the same week last year, and 11,993 intermodal units, up 27.4 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first four weeks of 2025 was 97,988 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 16.3 percent from the same point last year.