---
title: Rail & Intermodal Update – August 8, 2025
description: Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announce a major merger, rail traffic trends upward, and ARCI results show a decline in railcar backlog.
---

[State of Freight TODAY ](https://today.ftrintel.com)

# [Rail & Intermodal Update – August 8, 2025](https://today.ftrintel.com/rmu-august-8-2025)

 Written by [Joseph Towers, Sr. Analyst, Rail](https://today.ftrintel.com/author/joseph-towers) | 8/12/25 2:05 PM

In this week’s episode of *FTR’s Rail and Intermodal Update*, Senior Analyst **Joseph Towers** breaks down the latest developments in the rail industry, covering major merger news, current traffic trends, and the latest ARCI results. Here’s a recap of the key points discussed.

### **Proposed Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern Merger**

The headline story this past week was the announcement that **Union Pacific (UP)** and **Norfolk Southern (NS)** intend to merge, creating the first coast-to-coast transcontinental U.S. railroad since 1869.

- The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has confirmed receipt of the notice of intent for the merger.
- UP and NS plan to file their formal application by **January 29, 2026**.
- Once submitted, the STB will set a procedural schedule for review.

While the length of the approval process is not yet clear, the last major Class I merger — between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern — took nearly two years from announcement to approval.

### **Weekly Rail Traffic Overview**

For the week ending **August 2, 2025**, total North American rail traffic rose **3.6% year-over-year**.

**Carloads:**

- Overall carloads increased **4.5%**.
- Growth was seen in 7 of the 10 AAR commodity categories.
- Leading gains came from: 
    - **Grain:** +21.5%
    - **Motor Vehicles:** +15.1%
    - **Other:** +13.0%
    - **Coal:** +6.0%
- Declines were recorded in metallic ores and metals (-4.0%), farm products excluding grain (-3.6%), and petroleum products (-2.8%).

**Intermodal:**

- Total intermodal units increased **2.7%**.
- U.S. carriers posted a slight increase of **0.2%**.
- Canadian carriers saw strong growth at **+13.0%**.
- Mexican carrier GMX increased **8.2%**.

### **ARCI Results – Q2 2025**

The latest **ARCI** results show:

- **Railcar deliveries:** 7,916 units (higher than previously forecast)
- **Railcar orders:** 6,237 units
- **Backlog:** 29,871 units — the lowest level since Q4 2010

This marks the eighth consecutive quarter where orders have come in below deliveries, contributing to the ongoing backlog decline.

> These developments — the UP–NS merger announcement, steady carload growth, and changes in railcar order activity — will be explored in more detail at the upcoming **FTR Transportation Conference**, taking place **September 8–11, 2025, in Indianapolis**. If you haven’t registered yet, you can use promo code **25FTRJOSEPH10** at checkout for **10% off** your registration.

 

[View full post](https://today.ftrintel.com/rmu-august-8-2025)

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