US rail carload volumes rose in August to the highest level in nearly eight years while weekly rail traffic rose by nearly 14pc from a year earlier, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.
AAR attributed the increases to resilient US consumer demand, higher US manufacturing activity, and rising diesel costs, which have made rail shipments more cost-effective compared with competing transport options such as trucks.
Class I railroads shipped 533,545 carloads and intermodal units over the week ended 5 September, up by 14pc compared with the same week last year, AAR said Wednesday.
Weekly non-intermodal traffic averaged more than 235,000 railcars in August, the most since October 2019 and the eighth straight year-over-year gain. Railcar growth was broad-based and stretched across 15 of the 20 carload categories that the AAR tracks.
On a monthly basis, Class I railroads shipped nearly 300,000 intermodal containers and trailers per week in August, up by more than 4pc from a year earlier and besting the previous record set in June. Combined US carload and intermodal volume in August was the most in nearly eight years, AAR said without providing specifics.
Metallic ore shipments posted the biggest percentage gains in August, rising by 19pc from a year earlier, followed by a 16pc increase for coke, a nearly 16pc gain for lumber and wood products and a 9.1pc increase for petroleum products.
Chemicals shipments logged the seventh increase in eight months and are on a record annual pace, the AAR said, driven in part to lower US natural gas prices that have incentivized output at petrochemical and other industrial plants.
Shipments of grain and coal, the two biggest categories that Class I railroads haul by volume, diverged. Grain shipments grew by 7.8pc in August from a year earlier and were up for the tenth straight month, driven by strong grain exports.
Coal volumes in August fell by 2pc from year-earlier levels and were down for the sixth straight month, AAR said. Coal has become a drag on overall rail volumes after driving growth earlier in 2026. Several Class I railroads have attributed falling coal volumes to lower natural gas prices and weaker utility demand. Railed coal traffic has fallen by more than 50pc over the past 20 years but remains the single highest-volume category for most US railroads, AAR said.
AAR also pointed to falling inventories of railcars in storage as another sign of strong shipping demand. Stored railcars as a share of total cars in service fell to 18.1pc in August from 21.7pc in January, and more than 59,000 railcars have been taken out of storage over that period, AAR said.
