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
Total rail traffic for the week ending July 18, 2026 reached 523900 carloads and intermodal units combined, up 3.4% year-over-year, though carloads alone fell 1.2% to 226883 while intermodal surged 7.2% to 297017 units.
Network Health
BNSF is green on speed at 24.7 mph and yellow on dwell at 22.3 hours. UP is green on both speed (24.5 mph) and dwell (19.8 hours). CSX is green on speed at 24.263814304167038 mph and yellow on dwell at 21.69 hours. NS is yellow on speed at 21.1 mph and yellow on dwell at 22.5 hours. CN is green on dwell at 17.64 hours with no speed data. CPKC is yellow on speed at 21.6 mph and green on dwell at 20.88 hours.
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 diesel fuel climbed to 5.313 per gallon on July 27, up 3.49% week-over-week from 5.134 on July 20. The 12-week trend shows a steep descent from 5.639 in mid-May to a low of 4.578 on July 6, followed by a sharp recovery. For August 1 effective fuel surcharges, expect BNSF at 51 cents per mile, UP at 59, NS at 64, CSXT at 32, CN at 65, and CPKC at 69 cents per 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
Metallic Ores and Metals led all AAR commodities with a 9.2% year-over-year increase to 23183 carloads for the week ending July 18. Grain posted a solid 3.0% gain at 22179 carloads. Coal remained under pressure, sliding 9.5% to 56261 carloads, while Motor Vehicles and Parts dropped 6.9% to 12581.
Lane Watch
Houston, TX to Chicago, IL, 100-ton covered hopper of grain: tariff total 8188.13 USD over 1244.2 miles. Fuel surcharge of 634.54 cents per car is baked in at current BNSF rates of 51 cents per mile. 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.