WASHINGTON — U.S. weekly rail traffic continued its downward trend during the week ending Nov. 8, 2025, with total volume down 4.9% compared to the same week a year ago.
According to figures from the Association of American Railroads, the week’s traffic was 493,493 carloads and intermodal units. That includes 224,651 carloads, up 0.1% from the corresponding week in 2024, and 268,842 containers and trailers, down 8.7%. It is the fifth straight week of traffic declines compared to 2024.
Through 45 weeks, 2025 volume is 22,215,939 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.2% over the same period a year ago. The 10,004,661 carloads represent an increase of 1.8%; the 12,211,278 intermodal units are a gain of 2.5% over a year ago.
North American volume for the week ending Nov. 8, from nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, was 679,267 carloads and intermodal units, a decline of 0.1% from the same week a year ago. Included in that figure are 327,995 carloads, down 0.8% from the corresponding week a year ago, and 351,272 intermodal units, up 0.5%. For the year to date, the volume of 30,593,085 carloads and intermodal units is a gain of 1.9% compared to the first 45 weeks of 2024.
In Canada, weekly figures were 91,232 carloads, down 2.6%, and 69,344 intermodal units, up 65.4% from the same week in 2024. (The 2024 figure reflects a Canadian port strike, which caused intermodal volume to plummet some 39.6% from the previous week.) For the year to date, cumulative Canadian volume is 7,293,052 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.1% over the same period in 2024.
Mexican railroads moved 12,112 carloads for the week, a drop of 4.2% from the same week a year earlier, and 13,085 intermodal units, down 0.1%. Through 45 weeks, Mexican railroads have moved 1,084,094 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.7% from the same period a year earlier.
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