U.S. rail freight continued to roll in early October, with intermodal traffic posting the largest year-over-year gains for the major segments tracked by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
U.S. railroads originated a combined 529,712 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending October 3, up 5.1% from the same week last year.
Intermodal was the strongest contributor to that performance. Railroads moved 299,001 containers and trailers, an increase of 7.4% year-over-year, while carload traffic was 230,711 units, up 2.4%.
The carload picture also was good in the larger context. Seven of the 10 commodity groups measured by the AAR showed year-over-year gains. Metallic ores and metals led the gains with an increase of 12.8 percent, with petroleum and related products close behind with a 12.2 percent rise.
Forest products was up 7.5% and ranked third, despite continued weakness in the U.S. housing market that has plagued the sector for much of the year.
Not all classes of commodities rose. Farm products other than grain and food products fell 4.1 percent and grain traffic was off 5.2 percent. Coal was also a little weaker, down 0.1% on the year to date.
Intermodal still leads carloads for the year
The latest weekly numbers continue the trend across the U.S. rail network in 2026.
U.S. railroads moved 8,910,593 carloads in the first 39 weeks of the year, an increase of 2.7% compared with the same period in 2025. Intermodal traffic increased 4.2 percent year over year to 11,077,697 units.
U.S. rail traffic combined for the first 39 weeks of 2023 totaled 19,988,290 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.5% from the same period of 2022.
The data shows intermodal traffic continues to grow faster than traditional commodity carloads, helping to lift overall rail volumes.
North American network also reports gains
The positive trend was not limited to the United States. North American rail traffic rose this week on the nine U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads reporting to the AAR.
Carload volume was 335,068 units, a 1.6 percent increase over the same period last year. Intermodal traffic was up 6.9% to 386,372 units.
North American railroads combined to originate 721,440 carloads and intermodal units for the week, up 4.4% compared with 2025.
North American rail traffic for the first 39 weeks of 2026 was 27,399,651 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.1% from the same period in 2025.
The latest numbers, therefore, suggest another good period for North America’s rail freight network, with intermodal continuing to be an especially strong contributor to overall traffic growth.
