Total carloads for the week came in at 191,188, a 14.0% drop-off, and intermodal volume was 243,173 containers and trailers, a 16.6% decrease compared with 2025, according to the AAR.
For the week ending Jan. 31, 2026, one of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2025. It was grain, up 637 carloads, to 22,655. Commodity groups that posted declines included coal, down 9,888 carloads, to 50,189; nonmetallic minerals, down 7,948 carloads, to 18,702; and motor vehicles and parts, down 4,374 carloads, to 11,311.
For the first four weeks of 2026, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 863,558 carloads, rising 4.4% from the same point last year; and 1,068,353 intermodal units, dipping 3.5% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first four weeks of 2026 was 1,931,911 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 0.1% from last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Jan. 31, 2026, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 292,065 carloads, dropping 10.2% from the same week last year, and 318,595 intermodal units, falling 15.0% from last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 610,660 carloads and intermodal units, down 12.8%. North American rail volume for the first four weeks of this year came in at 2,667,190 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.1% from 2025.
Canadian railroads reported 87,405 carloads for the week ending Jan. 31, 2026, down 3.1%, and 60,594 intermodal units, down 15.0% from the prior-year period. For the first four weeks of this year, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 622,434 carloads, containers, and trailers, down 3.6%.
For the week ending Jan. 31, 2026, Mexican railroads reported 13,472 carloads, a 4.0% increase from the same week last year, and 14,828 intermodal units, a 25.9% increase. Their cumulative volume for the first four weeks of this year was 112,845 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, gaining 33.8% over the same point last year.
