For North American Rail Traffic, a Positive Start to 2025
For the two-week period ending Jan. 11, 2025, North American rail volume on nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads came in at 1,236,879 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers. Cumulative volume in the U.S. was 886,800 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.4% from the same point in 2024; in Canada, 304,983 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.1%; and in Mexico, 45,096 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.4%.
U.S. Class I railroads carried 465,390 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Jan. 11, 2025, rising 1.8% from the prior-year period, according to the AAR. That comprised 199,511 carloads, a 6.4% drop-off from 2024, and 265,879 containers and trailers, an 8.9% gain over last year.
For the week ending Jan. 11, 2025, four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week last year. They included grain, up 2,386 carloads, to 21,124; farm products excluding grain, and food, up 1,424 carloads, to 17,442; and forest products, up 401 carloads, to 8,588. Commodity groups that posted declines included coal, down 6,241 carloads, to 52,232; motor vehicles and parts, down 3,886 carloads, to 9,788; and nonmetallic minerals, down 3,211 carloads, to 22,229.
For the first two weeks of this year, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 398,011 carloads, dipping 5.5% from the same point last year; and 488,789 intermodal units, increasing 7.8% from last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Jan. 11, 2025, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 305,986 carloads, down 2.7% vs. the same week last year, and 348,125 intermodal units, up 8.9% from last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America came in at 654,111 carloads and intermodal units, rising 3.1%.
Canadian railroads reported 91,438 carloads for the week ending Jan. 11, 2025, up 5.8%, and 71,361 intermodal units, up 11.2% from the year-ago period.
For the week ending Jan. 11, 2025, Mexican railroads reported 15,037 carloads, down 0.1% from the same point last year, and 10,885 intermodal units, down 4.2%.
