USA: U.S. rail traffic rose 2.4% year on year in the week ending August 1, 2026, as intermodal growth outweighed a slight decline in carload volume.

Double-stacked shipping containers on a well freight car in Spokane, Washington.
Double-stacked shipping containers on a well freight car in Spokane, Washington. Illustrative photo. Photo: 298YGH20, CC BY 3.0.

The Association of American Railroads reported 526,410 total U.S. carloads and intermodal units for the week. Intermodal volume reached 293,239 containers and trailers, up 4.8% from the same week in 2025, while carloads fell 0.4% to 233,171.

Intermodal stayed ahead through late July

The latest result extends a pattern visible in recent AAR weekly reports rather than standing alone. In the week ending July 25, intermodal traffic increased 3.5% year on year while carloads rose 1.4%. A week earlier, intermodal gained 7.2% as carloads declined 1.2%.

The gap was also present in the weeks ending July 11 and July 4, when intermodal rose 3.0% and 12.9%, respectively, compared with carload changes of -0.4% and +3.7%. For the week ending June 27, intermodal increased 10.1% while carloads grew 3.3%.

Across those five prior reports, intermodal posted the stronger year-on-year growth rate each week. The August 1 figures therefore make six consecutive reported weeks in which intermodal outpaced carloads on this measure.

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The year-to-date balance has shifted

The cumulative comparison has also moved in intermodal’s favor during 2026. After the first 20 weeks of the year, AAR reported carloads up 3.3% from 2025 while intermodal units were up 1.4%.

By the end of week 30, the positions had reversed: U.S. intermodal volume was up 3.8% year on year to 8,418,215 units, while carloads were up 2.7% to 6,811,496. That moved intermodal from 1.9 percentage points behind carload growth after 20 weeks to 1.1 points ahead after 30 weeks.

Combined U.S. rail traffic for the first 30 weeks totaled 15,229,711 carloads and intermodal units, 3.3% above the same period of 2025. In the latest week, seven of 10 carload commodity groups still posted gains, but coal fell by 4,760 carloads, helping pull the overall carload total slightly lower.

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