New year, new gains for U.S. rail freight

Railroads in the U.S. shook off the uncertainty that marked the prior year with big gains in the first full week of 2026.

According to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, weekly traffic for the period ending Jan. 10 was 510,457 carloads and intermodal units, a 9.7% gain over the same week in 2025. That included 232,803 carloads, up 16.7% compared to the corresponding week of 2025, and 277,654 containers and trailers up 4.4%.

Gainers were led by nonmetallic minerals, 29.4%; coal, 27.2%, and grain, 23.3%. Forest products showed the lone decline, 8.7%.

North American volume for the week, from nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, was 696,484 carloads and intermodal units, up 7.7% from the same week a year ago. That includes 333,712 carloads, up 11.1%, and 362,772 intermodal units, up 4.8%. Traffic in Canada was 87,561 carloads, down 4.2% from the corresponding week in 2025, and 70,664 intermodal units, down 1%. The Canadian total of 158,225 carloads and intermodal units was a 2.8% decline. In Mexico, railroads reported 13,348 carloads, up 41.5%, and 14,454 intermodal units, up 65.5%. The cumulative volume of 27,802 carloads and intermodal units represented a 53% gain.