A drop in intermodal traffic pulled down overall US rail freight in the latest weekly data, despite modest gains in commodity shipments, reported New York's FreightWaves.

For the week ending August 23, total US rail traffic fell 0.8 per cent year-on-year, according to the Association of American Railroads. Commodity carloads rose 0.6 per cent, but intermodal volume dropped 1.9 per cent from 2024.

Four of 10 commodity groups posted gains, led by grain shipments up 9.2 per cent, and motor vehicles and parts up 6 per cent. Farm products excluding grain and food rose 4.1 per cent, while chemicals edged up 0.4 per cent.

Petroleum and petroleum products saw the steepest decline, down 9.9 per cent.

Over the first 34 weeks of 2025, cumulative US carload volume rose 2.6 per cent year-on-year, with intermodal units up 4.2 per cent. Combined traffic increased 3.5 per cent from the same period in 2024.

Across nine reporting railroads in the US, Canada and Mexico, weekly North American volume rose 5.3 per cent year-on-year. Intermodal units improved 5.9 per cent, with total traffic up 5.6 per cent. Year-to-date volume was 2.7 per cent higher than last year.