AAR Reports Rail Traffic for the week ending March 29, 2025
Today, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 29, 2025.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 513,553 carloads and intermodal units, up 8.6 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending March 29 were 235,865 carloads, up 7.8 percent compared with the same week in 2024, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 277,688 containers and trailers, up 9.4 percent compared to 2024.
Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2024. They included coal, up 11,426 carloads, to 63,028; grain, up 2,189 carloads, to 23,167; and motor vehicles and parts, up 1,479 carloads, to 17,745. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2024 were metallic ores and metals, down 504 carloads, to 20,620; forest products, down 342 carloads, to 8,375; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 232 carloads, to 10,111.
For the first 13 weeks of 2025, U.S. railroads reported a cumulative volume of 2,775,535 carloads, up 0.1 percent from the same point last year, and 3,540,729 intermodal units, up 8.3 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 13 weeks of 2025 was 6,316,264 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 4.5 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending March 29, 2025, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 349,262 carloads, up 5.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 367,820 intermodal units, up 8.8 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 717,082 carloads and intermodal units, up 7.1 percent. North American rail volume for the first 13 weeks of 2025 was 8,679,986 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.0 percent compared with 2024.
Canadian railroads reported 96,435 carloads for the week, up 4.0 percent, and 77,833 intermodal units, up 9.7 percent compared with the same week in 2024. For the first 13 weeks of 2025, Canadian railroads reported a cumulative rail traffic volume of 2,056,954 carloads, containers, and trailers, up 0.3 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 16,962 carloads for the week, down 15.7 percent compared with the same week last year, and 12,299 intermodal units, down 7.3 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 13 weeks of 2025 was 306,768 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 8.8 percent from the same point last year.
