U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes see gains, for week ending October 4, reports AAR

United States rail carload and intermodal volumes, for the week ending October 4, saw annual gains, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

U.S. rail carloads, at 224,972, eked out a 0.002% annual increase, trailing the weeks ending September 27 and September 20, at 228,903, and 228,609, respectively.

AAR reported that six of the 1o carload commodity groups it tracks saw annual gains, including: nonmetallic minerals, up 2,057 carloads, to 31,710; chemicals, up 1,841 carloads, to 32,919; and motor vehicles and parts, up 816 carloads, to 16,154. Commodity groups posting annual declines included: coal, down 4,685 carloads, to 56,252; farm products excl. grain, and food, down 376 carloads, to 17,658; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 265 carloads, to 10,538.

Intermodal containers and trailers, at 278,566 units, rose 6.7% annually, trailing the weeks ending September 27 and September 20, at 283,739, and 282,068, respectively.

Through the first 40 weeks of 2025, AAR said that total U.S. rail carloads, at 8,877,247, are up 2.1% compared to that same period a year ago, and intermodal units, at 10,852,267, are up 3.6% 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.