These two industrial categories paced another strong week for rail freight

The beginnings of another peak import surge combined with ongoing shifts of truckload freight to rail helped boost weekly intermodal traffic ahead of solid carload freight on U.S. railroads.

The Association of American Railroads data on U.S. rail traffic for the week ending August 1 showed 526,410 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.4% from the year-ago week.

A total 233,171 carloads failed to carry that gain, down 0.4%, while intermodal volume picked up the slack at 293,239 containers and trailers, up 4.8% from 2025.

SONAR graph shows why intermodal volumes have benefitted from shipper conversions seeking less expensive modal alternative to climbing truckload rates.

Seven of 10 carload commodities tracked by AAR finished higher, led by metallic ores and metals, up 9.1%, and petroleum and related products, ahead 5.9%.

Ore shipments have surged on increased domestic steel production, up 5.6% y/y, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute, and 5.8% year-to-date.

Coal topped decliners, off 7.7%, followed by chemicals, 2.3%, and motor vehicles and parts, 5.3%.

For the first 30 weeks of 2026, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 6,811,496 carloads, ahead 2.7%, and 8,418,215 intermodal units, an increase of 3.8% from the previous year. Total combined traffic improved by 3.3%, to 15,229,711 carloads and intermodal units.

North American volume for the week on nine reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads edged up to 335,697 carloads, an increase of 0.5%, and 377,702 intermodal units, a healthy 4.3% gain compared with 2025. Total combined traffic was 713,399 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.5%. North American volume for the first 30 weeks of 2026 improved 2.9% to 20,931,511 carloads and intermodal units, y/y.

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Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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