AAR reports rail traffic for the week ending May 16, 2026

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending May 16, 2026.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 511,216 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.2 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending May 16 were 230,497 carloads, up 0.6 percent compared with the same week in 2025, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 280,719 containers and trailers, up 7.3 percent compared to 2025.

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2025. They included grain, up 2,066 carloads, to 23,173; metallic ores and metals, up 1,044 carloads, to 22,450; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,004 carloads, to 11,278. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2025 were coal, down 3,667 carloads, to 55,302; miscellaneous carloads, down 634 carloads, to 9,658; and nonmetallic minerals, down 136 carloads, to 32,515.

For the first 19 weeks of 2026, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 4,297,732 carloads, up 3.4 percent from the same point last year; and 5,262,810 intermodal units, up 0.9 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 19 weeks of 2026 was 9,560,542 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 2.0 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending May 16, 2026, on 9 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 341,822 carloads, up 1.6 percent compared with the same week last year, and 374,372 intermodal units, up 6.7 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 716,194 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.2 percent. North American rail volume for the first 19 weeks of 2026 was 13,154,868 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.9 percent compared with 2025.

Canadian railroads reported 96,919 carloads for the week, up 4.4 percent, and 78,109 intermodal units, up 1.0 percent compared with the same week in 2025. For the first 19 weeks of 2026, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 3,115,805 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.3 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 14,406 carloads for the week, down 1.2 percent compared with the same week last year, and 15,544 intermodal units, up 29.2 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 19 weeks of 2026 was 478,521 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 9.2 percent from the same point last year.