Rail Pulse is Steel Wheel Logistics' weekly read on what actually moved on the U.S. rail network last week. Every figure is sourced from public AAR, STB, EIA, and USDA filings and linked at the bottom. Every word of analysis is anchored to those numbers — no estimates, no extrapolation.
The Number
Intermodal units climbed 11.5% year-over-year for the week ending May 23, reaching 292743 units, while total carloads inched up just 2.2% to 230831. Combined traffic grew 7.2% YoY to 523574 units, with week-over-week gains of 4.28% in intermodal and 2.42% in total traffic.
Network Health
BNSF runs green: 25.0 mph speed and 22.6 hrs dwell. UP is green: 24.7 mph and 19.8 hrs dwell. CSX is yellow: 23.283333863049354 mph and 22.14 hrs dwell. NS is red: 19.4 mph and 25.0 hrs dwell. CPKC is yellow: 22.8 mph and 21.34 hrs dwell. CN dwell is green at 18.13 hrs but speed data absent.
Color codes: green = speed ≥24 mph or dwell <22 hrs; yellow = speed 21–24 mph or dwell 22–26 hrs; red = speed <21 mph or dwell >26 hrs. Source: STB EP724 weekly Class I performance filings.
Fuel Watch
Heating oil diesel (HDF) settled at 5.35 on June 1, down 3.13% week-over-week from 5.523 and down 4.46% month-over-month from 5.5995. Current fuel surcharges effective July 1 are BNSF 62 cents/mile, UP 70 cents/mile, NS 78 cents/mile, CSXT 47 cents/mile, CN 79 cents/mile, and CPKC 75 cents/mile.
Want to see how a fuel-surcharge change hits a specific lane? Run a free rail rate quote — FSC is broken out per leg.
Commodity Spotlight
Grain surged 15.3% YoY for the week ending May 23, posting 23151 carloads—the largest absolute weekly move across all commodities. BNSF commanded the grain fleet with 12546 carloads, followed by UP at 6507 and CPKC at 4262. U.S. Class I grain traffic hit 29073 carloads in the week ending May 16, up 14.7% YoY, with Chicago wheat futures at 6.462, corn at 4.632, and soybeans at 11.962.
Lane Watch
Lane demo data timed out. Run an indicative estimate at steelwheellogistics.com/tools/rail-rate-quote.
Pricing a specific carload move? Run an indicative estimate through the live rail rate calculator. Already have cars on the ground? The demurrage calculator uses current Class I rate structures, and the transload directory lists rail-served terminals nationwide.
Sources
- AAR Weekly Rail Traffic Report
- STB Class I Weekly Performance Data (49 CFR 1250)
- EIA U.S. Weekly Retail On-Highway Diesel Average
- USDA AMS Grain Transportation Report
Rail Pulse is published every Tuesday morning, after the AAR Weekly Rail Traffic Report releases. We pull, validate, and compose — no figures are introduced beyond what these sources publish.