Association of American Railroads: U.S. Rail Traffic Up 13.8% Year-over-Year in the Week Ending September 5, 2026

en.Wedoany.com Reported - In the week ending September 5, total U.S. rail freight volume reached 533,545 carloads and intermodal units, up 13.8% year-over-year. Of this total, rail carload traffic was 234,397 carloads, up 8.9% year-over-year; container and trailer intermodal volume reached 299,148 units, up 18% year-over-year, a notably higher increase than carload traffic during the same period.

Of the 10 carload commodity categories tracked by the Association of American Railroads, 9 posted year-over-year increases. Metallic ores and metals recorded the largest gain at 26.6%; grain traffic rose 24.1%; and agricultural products excluding grain and food increased 15.3%. Coal was the only major commodity category to decline during the week, falling 5.8%.

In the first 35 weeks of 2026, U.S. railroads moved a cumulative 7,986,328 carloads, up 2.8% year-over-year; cumulative intermodal volume reached 9,904,325 containers and trailers, up 4.2% year-over-year. The two categories combined totaled 17,890,653 units, up 3.6% year-over-year.

The North American rail market also maintained growth during the same period. Nine rail operators in the United States, Canada, and Mexico collectively moved 341,432 carloads in the week ending September 5, up 8.7% year-over-year; intermodal volume was 386,079 units, up 15.9% year-over-year.

Looking at earlier weekly data, the growth in U.S. rail freight is not an isolated single-week change. In the first 34 weeks of 2026, cumulative U.S. carload traffic rose 2.7%, and intermodal traffic rose 3.9%; in the week ending August 29, North American rail carload volume increased 1.7% year-over-year, and intermodal traffic rose 6.0%. After entering the first week of September, the growth rates of both indicators further expanded.