North American carload and intermodal traffic rose 2.7 per cent in the first 34 weeks of 2025, with gains in the US and Canada offsetting a decline in Mexico, reported New York's Railway Age.

According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), total volume across nine reporting railroads in the US, Canada and Mexico reached 22,988,498 carloads and intermodal units for the period ending 23 August. US volume rose 3.5 per cent to 16,699,108 units, Canada increased 2.2 per cent to 5,499,570 units, while Mexico declined 8.4 per cent to 789,820 units.

For the week ending 23 August, US Class I railroads moved 512,333 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.8 per cent year on year. Carloads rose 0.6 per cent to 229,783, while containers and trailers fell 1.9 per cent to 282,550.

Four of 10 carload commodity groups posted weekly gains: grain rose by 1,723 carloads to 20,389; motor vehicles and parts increased by 1,001 to 17,681; and farm products excluding grain and food rose by 640 to 16,140. Declines were reported in petroleum products (down 1,068 to 9,769), coal (down 370 to 62,043), and miscellaneous carloads (down 249 to 9,100).

Year-to-date US totals included 7,514,403 carloads (up 2.6 per cent) and 9,184,705 intermodal units (up 4.2 per cent).

Combined North American rail traffic for the week ending 23 August totaled 692,598 units, up 5.6 per cent. This included 322,359 carloads (up 5.3 per cent) and 370,239 intermodal units (up 5.9 per cent).

Canadian railroads reported 80,067 carloads (up 23.8 per cent) and 73,564 intermodal units (up 47.7 per cent). Mexican railroads moved 12,509 carloads (down 3.6 per cent) and 14,125 intermodal units (up 18.6 per cent).