U.S. rail carload and intermodal units are mixed, for week ending October 11, reports AAR

United States rail carload and intermodal volumes, for the week ending October 11, were mixed, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Rail carloads, at 224,562, increased 1.2% annually, trailing the week ending October 4, at 224,972, and the week ending September 27, at 228,903.

AAR reported that five of the 10 carload commodities it tracks saw annual gains, including: nonmetallic minerals, up 1,985 carloads, to 32,448; coal, up 605 carloads, to 58,858; and chemicals, up 548 carloads, to 31,048. Commodity groups posting annual declines included: included metallic ores and metals, down 816 carloads, to 18,456; miscellaneous carloads, down 324 carloads, to 8,923; and grain, down 85 carloads, to 23,434.

Intermodal containers and trailers, at 273,900 units, fell 3.3% annually, trailing the weeks ending October 4 and September 27, at 278,566 and 283,739, respectively.

Through the first 41 weeks of 2025, AAR reported that total U.S. rail carloads, at 9,101,809, are up 2.1% annually, and intermodal units, at 11,126,167, are up 3.4% annually.

In its recently published “Rail Industry Overview” publication, AAR observed that rail traffic volumes in recent weeks “continue to adjust to evolving market conditions.” That was made clear in its September data, which found that total U.S. rail carloads fell 1.2% annually, with 12 of 20 commodities seeing annual declines. It added that total carloads averaged 225,783 per week in September, more than the weekly average for the first nine months of the year (221,853). Year-to-date total carloads through September were up 2.1%, or more than 180,000 carloads, over the same period in 2024.

As for intermodal, the publication noted that September U.S. intermodal shipments were off 1.3% annually, with average weekly intermodal volume, for the month, at 275,559 units, well-above the year-to-date weekly average of 271,121. Year-to-date intermodal volume through September was 10.57 million units—up 3.5% (362,000 units) over last year, the most since 2021, and the third most ever.