WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic showed one of its biggest single-week dips compared to 2024 for the week ending Sept. 6, with volume down 2.4% compared to the same week a year ago.
According to the Association of American Railroads, volume for the week was 467,880 carloads and intermodal units. That included 214,383 carloads, down 3.5% from the corresponding week in 2024, and 253,497 containers and trailers, down 1.4%.
It was the largest single-week decline since traffic dropped by 5.1% for the week ending Feb. 22 [see “U.S. weekly rail volume falls …,” Trains.com, Feb. 27, 2025], and the third largest this year. The week of Jan. 25 saw a 2.5% decline.
Through 36 weeks, U.S. rail volume is 17,688,490 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.3% over the same period in 2024. That includes 7,963,526 carloads, up 2.4%, and 9,724,964 intermodal units, up 4%.
North American volume for the week, as reported by nine U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, was 646,348 carloads and intermodal units, a decline of 0.7% compared to the same week in 2024. That includes 312,974 carloads, down 2%, and 333,374 intermodal units, up 0.6%. For the year to date, overall volume is 24,348,314 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.6% compared to the first 36 weeks of 2024. That includes 5,814,174 carloads and intermodal units in Canada, an increase of 2.2%, and 845,650 carloads and intermodal units in Mexico, down 7.5% from the same point last year.
