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
Rail traffic for the week ending August 15, 2026 totaled 525099 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.4% year-over-year. Carloads alone reached 233261, a 1.9% increase; intermodal grew 2.7% to 291838 units.
Network Health
BNSF is green with speed 24.4 mph and dwell 22.6 hours. UP is green at 24.0 mph and 20.4 hours dwell. CSX is yellow at 23.1 mph and 21.38 hours dwell. NS is red with speed 20.5 mph and dwell 22.8 hours. CN dwell is green at 19.64 hours; speed data absent. CPKC is red at 20.8 mph and yellow dwell at 23.25 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
Diesel fuel (HDF) closed August 24 at 5.652 per gallon, up 3.63% week-over-week and 9.54% month-over-month from 4.9553. Fuel surcharge indices rise September 1: BNSF moves from 50¢/mile to 57¢/mile; UP from 58¢/mile to 65¢/mile; NS from 62¢/mile to 71¢/mile; CN from 64¢/mile to 72¢/mile. CPKC holds at 62¢/mile. CSXT's next factor is pending.
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 posted the largest weekly move at 19.2% year-over-year, with 23322 carloads for the week ending August 15. Forest Products also strengthened at 10.5%, while Motor Vehicles and Parts declined 13.2%. Coal weakness persisted at minus 5.7%.
Lane Watch
Houston, TX to Los Angeles, CA: 100-ton covered hopper of plastic pellets. Single-car tariff total 11772.19 USD over 1622.7 miles. Fuel surcharge adds 941.17 USD at current UP rates of 58¢/mile. Your all-in cost is 117.72 USD per ton. 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.