Railway carloadings

The volume of cargo carried by Canadian railways increased in May, as both commodity loadings in Canada and traffic received from the United States rose.

Total freight traffic originating in Canada and received from the United States increased to 25.2 million metric tonnes, up 20.6% from May 2009.

Compared with May 2009, freight loaded in Canada rose 18.2% to 22.8 million metric tonnes in May. The Canadian railway industry's core transportation systems, non-intermodal and intermodal, both contributed to the rise in cargo loaded.

Non-intermodal freight loadings, which are typically carried in bulk or loaded in box cars, rose 19.2% to 20.5 million metric tonnes. The commodity groups with the largest increases in tonnage were coal, potash, iron ores and concentrates and iron and steel (primary or semi-finished).

In contrast, several commodity groups registered declines. Leading the drop in tonnage were colza seeds (canola), followed by wood pulp, wood chips and lumber.

Intermodal freight loadings, transported through containers and trailers loaded onto flat cars, increased 10.7% to 2.3 million metric tonnes in May, compared with the same month a year earlier.

Rail freight traffic coming from the United States rose to about 2.4 million metric tonnes, up 48.3% from May 2009. Non-intermodal freight transported from the United States contributed to the increase.

From a geographic perspective, 56.7% of the freight traffic originating in Canada was in the Western Division of Canada, with the remainder loaded in the Eastern Division. The Eastern and Western Divisions, for statistical purposes, are separated by an imaginary line running from Thunder Bay to Armstrong, Ontario. Freight loaded at Thunder Bay is included in the Western Division while loadings at Armstrong are reported in the Eastern Division.

Available on CANSIM: table 404-0002.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2732.

The May 2010 issue of Monthly Railway Carloadings, Vol. 87, no. 5 (52-001-X, free), is now available from the Key resource module of our website under Publications.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-866-500-8400; transportationstatistics@statcan.gc.ca), Transportation Division.