For the week ending March 8, 2025, five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the prior-year period, according to the AAR. They included coal, up 2,815 carloads, to 57,977; grain, up 2,414 carloads, to 21,710; and miscellaneous carloads, up 1,114 carloads, to 8,897. Commodity groups that posted declines included metallic ores and metals, down 868 carloads, to 17,939; chemicals, down 675 carloads, to 33,079; and forest products, down 171 carloads, to 8,188.
For the first 10 weeks of this year, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 2,088,739 carloads, dipping 1.5% from the same point in 2024; and 2,714,285 intermodal units, gaining 8.4% over 2024. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 10 weeks of this year was 4,803,024 carloads and intermodal units, increasing 3.8% from 2024.
North American rail volume for the week ending March 8, 2025, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 326,395 carloads, notching up 2.0%, and 359,817 intermodal units, gaining 5.5% over the prior-year period. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 686,212 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.8%. North American rail volume for the first 10 weeks of this year came in at 6,574,589 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.3% compared with 2024.
Canadian railroads reported 91,042 carloads for the week ending March 8, 2025, a 1.6% rise, and 70,776 intermodal units, a 1.2% fall-off from the same week last year. For the first 10 weeks of this year, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 1,546,446 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.6%.
For the week ending March 8, 2025, Mexican railroads reported 15,896 carloads, a 4.1% drop-off, and 11,086 intermodal units, a 3.0% dip from the same point last year. Their cumulative volume for the first ten weeks of 2025 came in at 225,119 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, decreasing 8.6% from year-ago period.
