WASHINGTON — By a tiny margin, U.S. weekly rail traffic was back below 2024 levels for the week ending June 28, 2025.
According to the Association of American Railroads, traffic for the week was 491,424 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.2% from the same week a year ago. That included 225,227 carloads, up 0.05%, and 266,197 containers and trailers, down 0.3%. It was the third time in four weeks 2025 traffic has been below 2024 levels.
At the midway point of 2025 — 26 of 52 weeks — the cumulative rail traffic total is 12,688,896 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.9% from the same period last year. Included in that figure are 5,705,567 carloads, up 2.4% from the first 26 weeks of 2024, and 6,983,329 intermodal units, up 5.1%.
North American volume for the week, from nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, totals 685,873 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 0.7% over the corresponding week in 2024. That includes 330,171 carloads, down 1.2% compared to the same week a year ago, and 355,702 intermodal units, up 2.6%.
The year-to-date total for North America is 17,454,891 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.7% compared to the first 26 weeks of 2024. That includes 4,238,619 carloads and intermodal units in Canada, up 1.2%, and 618,376 carloads and intermodal units in Mexico, down 8.6% compared to the same period a year ago.
