WASHINGTON — After six weeks in positive territory, U.S. weekly rail traffic slipped slightly below 2024 levels during the week ending Aug. 16, 2025.
According to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, traffic for the week was 512,970 carloads and intermodal unites, a drop of 0.7% from the same week a year ago. That figure included 228,884 carloads, down 0.9%, and 284,086 containers and trailers, down 0.6% from the same week a year ago.
Through 33 weeks of 2025, U.S. railroads recorded volume of 16,185,775 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.6% compared to the same period in 2024. That included 7,284,620 carloads, up 2.7%, and 8,902,155 intermodal units, up 4.4%.
North American figures for the week, from nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, show total volume of 685,858 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.1% from the corresponding week a year ago. That includes 320,190 carloads, down 3.8%, and 365,668 intermodal units, down 0.6%.
Year-to-date figures for North America are 22,295,900 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.6% increase over the first 33 weeks of 2024. In Canada, year-to-date volume is 5,345,939 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.5%; in Mexico, the 33-week figure is 763,186 carloads and intermodal units, down 8.9%.
