WASHINGTON — The shipping “pause” that developed when tariffs slowed container traffic from China appears to have finally caught up with U.S. rail traffic.
With container traffic down by 4.9%, overall U.S. rail traffic for the week ending June 7 was 1.3% below the same week in 2024, according to the Association of American Railroads. It is the first time weekly traffic has dipped below previous-week levels in 15 weeks; it last happened in the week ending Feb. 22 [see “U.S. weekly rail volume falls …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 27, 2025].
Overall traffic was 487,807 carloads and intermodal units, with 258,506 containers and trailers. Carload traffic was up 3.1% at 225,301 carloads.
Through 23 weeks of 2025, U.S. railroads reported volume of 11,224,334 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.5% compared to the same period last year. That includes 5,025,834 carloads, up 2.5%, and 6,198,500 intermodal units, up 6.1%.
North American volume for the week, from nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, was 674,615 carloads and intermodal units, a decline of 0.3%. That included 330,823 carloads, up 2.4%, and 343,792 intermodal units, down 2.9%. Year-to-date North American volume was at 15,501,618 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.1% compared to the first 23 weeks of 2024. Year-to-date traffic in Canada totals 3,740,869 carloads and intermodal units, up 1%, while the 23-week total for Mexico is 536,415 carloads and intermodal units, down 9.4%.
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