Total U.S. rail traffic for the weeks ending Feb. 21, 2026, and Feb. 14, 2026, rose 10.7% and 6.2%, respectively.
U.S. Class I railroads moved 516,729 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Feb. 28, 2026, AAR reported March 4. Total carloads came in at 238,131, up 6.9%, and intermodal volume was 278,598 containers and trailers, down 2.5% from the same week last year.
For the week ending Feb. 28, 2026, eight of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2025. They included grain, up 4,210 carloads, to 25,210; coal, up 3,864 carloads, to 63,950; and chemicals, up 2,900 carloads, to 36,642. Commodity groups that posted declines were forest products, down 427 carloads, to 7,905; and miscellaneous carloads, down 302 carloads, to 8,599.
For the first eight weeks of 2026, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 1,762,504 carloads, a 5.5% increase from the prior-year period; and 2,191,101 intermodal units, a 1.0% fall-off from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first eight weeks of 2026 was 3,953,605 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.8% compared with last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Feb. 28, 2026, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 345,406 carloads, up 4.1% from the same week last year, and 366,411 intermodal units, down 0.1% from last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America came in at 711,817 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.9%. North American rail volume for the first eight weeks of this year was 5,442,179 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.5% from 2025.
Canadian railroads reported 93,668 carloads for the week ending Feb. 28, 2026, rising 2.5%, and 74,256 intermodal units, climbing 11.3% compared with the same week last year. For the first eight weeks of 2026, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 1,274,116 carloads, containers, and trailers, up 2.5%.
Mexican railroads reported 13,607 carloads for the week ending Feb. 28, 2026, dropping 22.5% from the same point last year, and 13,557 intermodal units, dipping 4.5%. Their cumulative volume for the first eight weeks of this year came in at 214,458 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, increasing 17.0% from the same point last year.
