North American rail volume on nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads was 2,566,095 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers for the four-week period ending Jan. 25, 2025. Cumulative volume in the U.S. came in at 1,841,757 carloads and intermodal units, up 6.0% compared with the same point in 2024; in Canada, 626,350 carloads and intermodal units, up 8.1%; and in Mexico, 97,988 carloads and intermodal units, up 16.3%.
According to the AAR, U.S. Class I railroads hauled 454,797 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Jan. 25, 2025, a 2.5% decrease over the same week last year. That comprised 189,125 carloads, down 8.8% from 2024, and 265,672 containers and trailers, up 2.5% from last year.
For the week ending Jan. 25, 2025, only one of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2024. It was farm products (excluding 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 three weeks of 2025, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 803,593 carloads, up 0.3% from the same point last year; and 1,038,164 intermodal units, up 10.9% from last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Jan. 25, 2025, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 292,415 carloads, down 4.9% from the same week last year, and 344,988 intermodal units, up 2.7% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 637,403 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.0%.
Canadian railroads reported 88,763 carloads for the week ending Jan. 25, 2025, a 1.9% increase, and 67,323 intermodal units, a 0.2% decrease over the same week last year.
Mexican railroads reported 14,527 carloads for the week ending Jan. 25, 2025, up 10.6% compared with the same week last year, and 11,933 intermodal units, up 27.4%.
