by Calculated Risk on 9/07/2025 08:09:00 AM
From the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Year Data Center. Graph and excerpts reprinted with permission.
The AAR Freight Rail Index
(FRI), which measures seasonally adjusted month
to-month rail intermodal shipments plus carloads
excluding coal and grain, fell 0.5% in August 2025
from July 2025, its fourth decline in the past five
months. Still, the index remains relatively strong:
since 2008, it’s been higher than it was in August less
than 15% of the time.
emphasis added
Rail intermodal volumes are closely tied to port activity (especially in the west) and the consumer side of the
economy. In August, U.S. rail intermodal shipments were up 0.5% over last year. Average weekly intermodal
volume in August 2025 was 284,316 containers and trailers, the most for any month since May 2021 and the
most for August since 2018.
…
Meanwhile, year-over-year total U.S. rail carloads rose 0.7% in August 2025 over August 2024marking six
consecutive monthly gains. Eleven of the 20 major carload categories tracked by the AAR saw gains in August,
the sixth straight month in which at least half the categories saw increases. Total carloads averaged 230,184 per
week in August 2025, the most for any month since October 2022. In 2025 through August, total carloads were
up 2.5%, or nearly 192,000 carloads, over last year.
