The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported U.S. rail traffic data for the week ending July 4, 2026, on July 8, 2026. Total U.S. weekly rail traffic reached 482,121 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 8.7 percent compared to the same week in 2025.
Read also: Global Railway Supply Chain Round-Up: Partnerships, Innovation, and Expansion
For that week, U.S. carloads totaled 212,691, up 3.7 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Intermodal volume, comprising containers and trailers, was 269,430 units, a rise of 12.9 percent year-over-year. Among ten carload commodity groups, nine posted gains. Grain increased by 2,490 carloads to 21,622; metallic ores and metals rose by 2,134 carloads to 22,262; and farm products excluding grain, along with food, added 1,961 carloads to reach 17,346. Coal was the only commodity group to decline, falling by 4,197 carloads to 48,841.
For the first 26 weeks of 2026, cumulative U.S. rail volume stood at 5,894,302 carloads, up 3.2 percent from the same period in 2025. Intermodal units for that span totaled 7,254,412, an increase of 3.6 percent. Combined U.S. traffic for the first half of the year was 13,148,714 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.4 percent gain.
On a North American scale, nine reporting railroads in the United States, Canada, and Mexico recorded 316,737 carloads for the week ending July 4, 2026, up 6.3 percent year-over-year. Intermodal units across the continent were 354,603, a 10.3 percent increase. Total combined weekly North American rail traffic was 671,340 carloads and intermodal units, up 8.4 percent. For the first 26 weeks of 2026, North American rail volume reached 18,099,612 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.9 percent rise compared to 2025.
Canadian railroads reported 88,601 carloads for the week, an 8.1 percent increase, and 70,562 intermodal units, a decline of 4.1 percent from the same week in 2025. Cumulative Canadian rail traffic for the first 26 weeks of 2026 was 4,277,145 carloads, containers, and trailers, up 0.6 percent. Mexican railroads posted 15,445 carloads for the week, a surge of 42.2 percent compared to the same week last year, and 14,611 intermodal units, a 56.0 percent jump. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 26 weeks of 2026 was 673,753 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, an increase of 9.2 percent from the same point in 2025.
