U.S. Class I railroads hauled 496,053 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending April 19, 2025, the AAR reported April 23. Total carloads came in at 224,436, increasing 3.4%, and intermodal volume was 271,617 containers and trailers, rising 5.4% from the same week in 2024.
Both carloads and intermodal volume were also up for the week ending April 12, 2025.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase for the week ending April 19, 2025, compared with the same week last year. They were coal, up 10,124 carloads, to 57,595; miscellaneous carloads, up 615 carloads, to 10,057; and farm products excluding grain, and food, up 11 carloads, to 16,722. Commodity groups that posted declines included petroleum and petroleum products, down 1,103 carloads, to 9,652; nonmetallic minerals, down 992 carloads, to 30,795; and motor vehicles and parts, down 412 carloads, to 16,459.
For the first 16 weeks of 2025, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 3,444,327 carloads, up 1.1% from the same point in 2024; and 4,360,482 intermodal units, up 8.3% from 2024. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 16 weeks of 2025 was 7,804,809 carloads and intermodal units, a 5.0% gain over last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending April 19, 2025, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 329,345 carloads, a 0.4% dip from the same week last year, and 356,351 intermodal units, a 2.9% rise from last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America came in at 685,696 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.3%. North American rail volume for the first 16 weeks of this year was 10,737,028 carloads and intermodal units, a increase of 3.2% from 2024.
For the week ending April 19, 2025, Canadian railroads reported 91,382 carloads, dropping 5.5%, and 73,995 intermodal units, falling 2.5% from the same week last year. For the first 16 weeks of 2025, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 2,555,882 carloads, containers, and trailers, flat with 2024.
Mexican railroads reported 13,527 carloads for the week ending April 19, 2025, a 20.7% drop-off compared with the same week last year, and 10,739 intermodal units, a 15.7% decrease. Their cumulative volume for the first 16 weeks of this year was 376,337 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, a fall-off of 10.1% from the same point in 2024.
