U.S. freight railroads delivered one of their best performances in years during March 2026, indicating that the goods-producing economy is regaining significant momentum across multiple sectors.
According to the latest rail industry summary from the Association of American Railroads (AAR), total loaded cars in the U.S. averaged 230,401 per week in March, the strongest March result since 2019 and the highest monthly average since October 2022. Carloads increased 1.7% year over year, marking the third consecutive monthly increase.
During the first quarter, loaded vehicles totaled 2.68 million, up 4.2% from 2025 and the strongest first-quarter performance since 2019.
The recovery is remarkably broad: 12 of the top 20 vehicle freight categories posted year-over-year gains in March, a trend that has continued since January. This breadth suggests a genuine stabilization and expansion of the underlying goods economy.
Intermodal traffic also showed improvement, averaging 280,076 units per week (the second highest level recorded in March) and a year-over-year increase of 1.4%.
Signal strength of industrial goods
Railway volumes linked to industrial activity are among the clearest positive points, with increasingly firm demand for industrial inputs and chemical products.
Chemical shipments stand out as a particularly strong indicator. The AAR report states: “Chemical shipments remain one of the clearest indicators of industrial health and continue to perform better.”
March chemical volumes hit a record weekly average of 35,580 carloads, a 5.5% year-over-year increase. First quarter chemical volumes were the highest on record. This performance reflects the competitiveness of U.S. chemical producers, supported by advantageous domestic natural gas prices that provide both energy and feedstock, pointing to sustained domestic production and export demand.
Grain traffic also contributed significantly, with volumes increasing 10.3% to more than 97,900 carloads in March and the highest first quarter since 1993.
Freight cars, excluding coal (a clearer reading on industrial, agricultural and consumer-related transportation) averaged 171,338 per week in March, the highest March level since 2008 and the highest monthly level since August 2019. Year-to-date, these volumes are up 4.5% and are at their highest level since 2015.
New trade data adds further evidence of a manufacturing sector surge. Capital goods now account for a record 41% of all US goods imports (largely specialized equipment that supports future production capacity), while the overall trade deficit in the first two months of 2026 has decreased by 55% compared to the same period in 2025. This change points to companies actively positioning themselves to expand domestic production.
SONAR Data and Shipper Sentiment Bolster Industrial Resilience
Complementing the strength of rail, FreightWaves SONAR flatbed data shows clear resilience in industrial and construction-related freight transportation.
Platform tender rejection rates have remained high in recent weeks, frequently exceeding 40% in March, levels well above figures from a year ago and indicative of a significant capacity shortage in the open platform segment. The SONAR Flatbed Truck Freight Volume Index, adjusted for tender rejections, averaged 22% higher in March compared to 2025. This reflects notable strength in the heavy industrial freight spot market.
The spot market’s momentum is further confirmed by data released by Truckstop.com brokers. Load postings hit the highest level since June 2022 and were 26% above the same week in 2025. This strength in posted loads underscores strong underlying demand across all equipment types.
The SONAR National Truck Freight Index (NTI.USA), the seven-day moving average of dry van booked spot rates (including fuel), provides additional depth, showing rates hit new cycle highs at $3.10 per mile on Friday, the highest levels since March 2022. The platform was even stronger (FTI.USA) reaching the highest levels ever recorded at $3.95 per mile. This spot market strength underscores the acceleration of carrier pricing power and capacity tightening in the for-hire truckload sector.
Additional support for improving freight demand comes from the American Trucking Association (ATA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, which rose 2.6% in February to 116.2 (2015=100), its highest level in three years. The index also rose 2.1% year over year, the largest annual gain since October 2022. The ATA surveys its own member carriers, which tend to carry more direct (contract) carrier freight than spot market freight, providing valuable reading on longer-term committed volumes that are often ahead of spot market trends.
This tightness in platform markets – which move heavy industrial goods, steel, construction materials, machinery and construction supplies – aligns closely with the rail report’s signs of an improvement in manufacturing. ISM Manufacturing PMI® reached 52.7% in March (its highest level in more than three years), and production increased 1.3% year after year in February. Factors such as data center construction, seasonal construction increases and a broader industrial rebound appear to be driving sustained demand for platform capacity.
Additional confirmation comes from Bank of America’s proprietary biweekly truckload demand indicator from its carrier survey. The indicator rose to 60.2 in the latest reading (up from 57.9), which is an 18% year-over-year increase and signals strong underlying demand for freight transportation ahead of the spring shipping season. BoA’s carrier survey, which has followed the market since 2012, adds strong carrier-level validation to the best trends in rail and platform.
FreightWaves SONAR now offers the most comprehensive view of freight markets through its new rail data dashboard, featuring bulk and intermodal rail volumes. The Bulk Rail Dashboard is specifically designed to provide subscribers with the most complete picture of freight markets by integrating high-frequency AAR rail data with SONAR’s proprietary truckload, intermodal and market indices. This allows users to obtain a comprehensive view of the industrial economy.. Visit GoSONAR.com for a trial.
SONAR’s new Rail Carload Dashboard provides high-frequency rail car data.
Taken together, strong rail car loading performance (especially ex-coal and chemicals), record capital goods imports, elevated rig activity, positive carrier sentiment from the BoA survey, ATA tonnage gains, strong spot market freight volume from Truckstop.com/FTR and SONAR’s NTI, and SONAR’s integrated rail insights paint a consistent picture: the industrial sector is showing genuine resilience and early signs of expansion for the second quarter.
The AAR Freight Rail Index (FRI) supports this view, as first-quarter average levels hit their highest level in almost five years, pointing to continued expansion in freight-intensive sectors such as manufacturing, construction inputs and export-oriented production.
Perspective
Manufacturing activity is improving, with the ISM Manufacturing PMI® at its highest reading in more than three years. Rail traffic, platform markets, ATA tonnage, BoA shipper sentiment, spot market freight volume strength, capital goods import trends and new SONAR rail data dashboard are converging to confirm industrial demand is strengthening.
For shippers, shippers and analysts, these signals from rail cars and flatbed trucks, all accessible on one platform integrated into SONAR, provide high-frequency confirmation of a growing industrial recovery as we move into the second quarter.
The post Rail, Trucking Data Highlights Strong Industrial Economy appeared first on FreightWaves.
