Total carloads for the week came in at 206,674, a 10.5% drop-off, and intermodal volume was 280,464 containers and trailers, a 4.3% decrease compared with 2024, according to the AAR. For the week ending Dec. 20, 2025, two of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2024. They were grain, up 1,294 carloads, to 23,272; and motor vehicles and parts, up 177 carloads, to 16,024. Commodity groups that posted declines included coal, down 9,571 carloads, to 51,534; miscellaneous carloads, down 8,235 carloads, to 1,044; and chemicals, down 3,662 carloads, to 31,508. For the first 51 weeks of 2025, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 11,320,426 carloads, up 1.5% from the same point last year; and 13,851,979 intermodal units, up 1.6% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 51 weeks of this year came in at 25,172,405 carloads and intermodal units, rising 1.5% from the same period in 2024. North American rail volume for the week ending Dec. 20, 2025, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 310,557 carloads, down 8.7% from the same week in 2024, and 361,679 intermodal units, down 3.9% from prior-year period. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 672,236 carloads and intermodal units, a 6.1% decrease. North American rail volume for the first 51 weeks of this year was 34,645,846 carloads and intermodal units, rising 1.4% from 2024. Canadian railroads for the week ending Dec. 20, 2025, reported 89,678 carloads, dipping 3.5%,…
