In comparison, for the week ending Sept. 27, 2025, total U.S. rail traffic was 512,642 and intermodal units, up 1.0% from the prior-year period, according to the AAR. Total carloads for the week were 228,903, up 0.9%, while intermodal volume was 283,739 containers and trailers, up 1.1% from last year.
For the week ending Oct. 4, 2025, six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2024. They included nonmetallic minerals, up 2,057 carloads, to 31,710; chemicals, up 1,841 carloads, to 32,919; and motor vehicles and parts, up 816 carloads, to 16,154. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2024 included coal, down 4,685 carloads, to 56,252; farm products excl. grain, and food, down 376 carloads, to 17,658; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 265 carloads, to 10,538.
For the first 40 weeks of 2025, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 8,877,247 carloads, up 2.1% from the same point last year; and 10,852,267 intermodal units, up 3.6% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 40 weeks of 2025 was 19,729,514 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 2.9% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending October 4, 2025, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 330,856 carloads, up 0.8% compared with the same week last year, and 366,262 intermodal units, up 8.4% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 697,118 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.7%. North American rail volume for the first 40 weeks of 2025 was 27,154,570 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.4% compared with 2024.
For the week ending Oct. 4, 2025, Canadian railroads reported 93,421 carloads, down 1.4%, and 72,787 intermodal units, up 6.0% from the same week last year. For the first 40 weeks of 2025, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,473,565 carloads, containers, and trailers, rising 2.0%.
Mexican railroads reported 12,463 carloads for the week ending Oct. 4, 2025, up 45.1% from the same week last year, and 14,909 intermodal units, up 82.9%. Their cumulative volume for the first 40 weeks of this year came in at 951,491 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, a fall-off of 5.9% from the same point last year.
