|
|
|
|
A roundup of the week’s most-read rail — intermodal, Class I service, ports, and the bottlenecks in between.
| ● Clear |
FreightWaves Rail · Oct 22, 2026 |
Sub: Class I & Regulatory |
|
| Brought to you by |
|
|
Rail data isn’t the problem. Acting on it is. Hear IntelliTrans SVP Matt Everson break down what bulk shippers are missing.
Get the insights → |
|
|
|
| Bulletin Orders |
FWRX · No. 10·22 |
|
|
From the desk of Stuart Chirls · Railroads · FreightWaves & Trains.com
BNSF is targeting specific shipper audiences in war of words over the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger … In an Oct. 15 agricultural industry interview, BNSF Chief of Staff Zak Andersen warned that concentrating that much market share would hurt the U.S. agriculture industry … He argued that even western shippers captive to UP can currently benefit from a choice between NS and CSX for the eastern leg …
|
|
|
|
|
| Featured · Intermodal · Volumes |
◆ Intermodal · Volumes
FreightWaves Rail · Oct 16, 2026
AAR reported 534,256 U.S. carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Oct. 10, up 7.2% year over year, with intermodal up 10.4% to 302,252 containers and trailers and carloads up 3.4% to 232,004; eight of ten commodity groups rose, led by metallic ores and metals at 19.7%, forest products and motor vehicles.
| Signal |
Double-digit intermodal growth, with year-to-date intermodal up 4.4% and carloads up 2.7% through 40 weeks, shows the shift of truckload freight to rail continuing as trucking costs stay elevated. |
|
Read the full bulletin → |
 |
◆ Technology · Short Lines
FreightWaves Rail · Oct 21, 2026
Intramotev will deploy two autonomous TugVolt railcars on Missouri’s Columbia Terminal Railroad under a $16.2 million FRA CRISI grant awarded to the City of Columbia, with phased testing from remote terminal switching to autonomous service across the 21.4-mile Centralia-Columbia mainline, including public crossings.
| Signal |
The project aims to build a safety record that the FRA and the more than 600 U.S. short lines can use as a template for adopting autonomous railcars, though no timetable for full-line service was given. |
|
Read the full bulletin → |
◆ Infrastructure · Short Lines
FreightWaves Rail · Oct 21, 2026
Ontario Midland Railroad won an $11.2 million CRISI grant to rehabilitate about 10 miles of track in Wayne County, New York, replacing roughly nine miles of rail, resurfacing eight grade crossings and replacing seven turnouts, as part of $20.8 million in CRISI funding that also includes $9.6 million for Falls Road Railroad.
| Signal |
Track modernization on a CSX-connected short line supports regional agricultural and manufacturing shippers and, per the senators, should reduce truck traffic and fuel consumption. |
|
Read the full bulletin → |
◆ Class I · Workforce
FreightWaves Rail · Oct 21, 2026
CSX cut 109 operations management positions in a restructuring of its engineering functions first outlined in the spring, offering 58 affected employees new roles and 51 severance; the news came ahead of third-quarter earnings and as COO Mike Cory announced his retirement.
| Caution |
A second round of management cuts after January’s 166 layoffs, together with the COO’s departure, marks a notable reshaping of CSX’s operations leadership going into earnings. |
|
Read the full bulletin → |
◆ Class I · Leadership
FreightWaves Rail · Oct 21, 2026
Union Pacific Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Hamann, a 35-year company veteran who became CFO in January 2020 and the railroad’s first woman in the role, will retire in early 2027; she called herself an ardent supporter of the Norfolk Southern merger, and UP said it will announce succession plans later.
| Caution |
A CFO transition with no successor named yet lands in the middle of the UP-NS merger review, making succession a detail to watch as the deal moves toward its STB decision. |
|
Read the full bulletin → |
|
|
|
Reading the Rails
Powered by  · Intermodal Dashboard
The week’s total U.S. rail carload volumes, pulled straight from SONAR’s Intermodal Dashboard.
|
Total Carloads
232,120
▲ +0.05% w/w
|
|
|
12-Mo. Average
226,129
▲ +2.6% above avg
|
|
|
vs. 2025
188,673
▲ +23.0% above 2025
|
|
|
vs. 2024
183,990
▲ +26.2% above 2024
|
|
● SONAR · Total U.S. Carloads, 12-Month Trend — RTOTC.USA
Weekly total carloads were essentially flat at 232,120 this week, up just 116 cars (+0.05%) from last week’s 232,004, and running about 2.6% above the 12-month average of 226,129.
● SONAR · Total U.S. Carloads, Year-over-Year Comparison — RTOTC.USA (2023–2026)
Layered against the past three years, 2026’s carload volumes remain well ahead of the comparable year-end points in 2025 (188,673) and 2024 (183,990) — up roughly 23% and 26% respectively; the 2023 comparison line was again too overlapped with the others to read confidently.
| Signal |
A second straight week of small gains holds carloads comfortably above the annual average, pointing to steady, stable fall demand rather than a surge or a slide. |
|
|
|
Powered by · Intermodal Dashboard
See the whole rail picture in SONAR
Every figure above is live in SONAR’s Intermodal Dashboard — carloads, container volumes and year-over-year moves, refreshed daily across every mode.
Explore the Intermodal Dashboard → |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
October 27 – 28, 2026 · The Signal, Chattanooga
F3: Future of Freight Festival
FreightWaves’ flagship event blends rapid-fire tech demos and world-class speakers with the most legendary networking in logistics. Join 1,000+ freight and logistics experts, industry leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators for a definitive look at the year ahead. Come for the insights, stay for the celebration and leave with the connections that will define your 2027.
Register Now → |
|
|
|
FreightWaves Rail is published weekly
Facebook · X · Instagram · LinkedIn · YouTube
You’re receiving this because you subscribed to FreightWaves newsletters.
Forward to a friend · Manage subscriptions · Unsubscribe
Firecrown Media Inc. · 405 Cherry Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402, US
© 2026 FreightWaves, Inc. · All rights reserved
|
|
.png)
_(1).png)
