Rail Intermodal Volume Climbs 2.2% in Latest Weekly Report

Key Details U.S. railroads handled 508,303 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending April 18, up 2.5% year-over-year. Intermodal containers and trailers totaled 277,554 units, showing a 2.2% increase, while carloads reached 230,749, up 3%. Why It Matters This growth pushes year-to-date traffic ahead of 2025 levels and signals stabilizing freight demand across the rail network. The 3.8% increase in North American combined traffic across nine reporting railroads reinforces broader positive momentum in the sector. Commodity Standouts Grain shipments led gains with a 22.9% jump, while petroleum products surged 15.5% amid geopolitical price pressures from the Iran situation. Coal declined 4.7%, and miscellaneous carloads dropped 10.1%. Year-to-Date Performance For the first 15 weeks of 2026, intermodal units decreased slightly at -0.1%, but overall combined traffic is up 1.6%. Year-to-date North American volume shows a solid 1.9% increase, demonstrating resilience despite some commodity category weakness. Bottom Line Intermodal's modest recovery and carload strength suggest balanced growth across freight categories, though shippers should monitor coal and miscellaneous categories for potential slowdowns ahead.