U.S. rail traffic increased 7.8% in the week ended Oct. 24 compared with the same week in 2025, as growth in intermodal shipments outpaced gains in carloads, Association of American Railroads data shows.
Weekly intermodal volume, which includes containers and trailers, rose 11.3%, while carload traffic increased 3.6%. Both measures grew faster than their respective year-to-date rates.
Eight of the 10 carload commodity groups recorded year-over-year increases. Petroleum and petroleum products led percentage growth, rising 15.4%, followed by motor vehicles and parts at 15.3%. Forest products increased 11.7%, and metallic ores and metals gained 11.6%.
Farm products excluding grain, and food fell 3.7%, while grain posted a rare decline at 1.4%.
For the first 42 weeks of 2026, combined U.S. rail traffic increased 3.8% from the same period in 2025. Carloads rose 2.7%, while intermodal traffic was better by 4.7%.
Despite its weekly decline, grain remained the strongest-growing carload commodity group for the year to date, up 10.6%. Metallic ores and metals followed with an 8.6% increase, while petroleum and petroleum products rose 8%. Coal fell by 1.6%, and motor vehicles and parts were unchanged.
Combined traffic on the nine reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads increased 8% for the week. North American carloads rose 5%, while intermodal volume increased 10.8%, according to the AAR.
Canadian railroads reported weekly carload growth of 7.6% and an intermodal increase of 5.5%. Mexican railroads posted a 12.7% increase in carloads and a 33.4% jump in intermodal traffic.
For the first 42 weeks of the year, total North American rail traffic rose 3.3%. Cumulative traffic increased 1.5% in Canada and 5.2% in Mexico.
Why it matters: Weekly traffic growth continues to outpace the year-to-date rate, led by intermodal shipments.
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Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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