Rail traffic among U.S. carriers rose 6.6% in the week ending Nov. 7 compared with the same week a year ago, driven by an 11% increase in intermodal shipments, the Association of American Railroads said.
Carloads increased 1.3% from a year earlier. Seven of the 10 commodity groups recorded gains, led by motor vehicles and parts, up 10.4%, and forest products, up 10.1%. Metallic ores and metals followed with a 6.4% increase.
Grain shipments declined 2.4%, nonmetallic minerals fell 1.7%, and coal slipped 1.2% among weaker volumes.
Through the first 44 weeks of 2026, total U.S. rail traffic increased 3.9% compared with the same period in 2025. Intermodal volume rose 4.9%, carloads increased 2.7%.
Grain remained the strongest-growing freight category year to date, up 9.7%, despite its weekly decline. Metallic ores and metals increased 8.8%, and petroleum and petroleum products rose 7.7%. Coal was the only commodity group below its year-earlier cumulative level, down 1.6%.
Across the nine reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, combined weekly traffic increased 6.7% year over year. Intermodal shipments rose 10.5%, while carload freight volume grew 2.7%. Total North American traffic was up 3.4% through the first 44 weeks.
Why It Matters: Overall traffic improvement led by intermodal shipments does not reflect uniform gains across goods moving by rail.
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