Railway carloadings, December 2017
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Released: 2018-02-28
30.6 million tonnes
December 2017
5.5% 
(12-month change)
The volume of rail freight carried in Canada totalled 30.6 million tonnes in December, up 5.5% from December 2016.
Chart 1
Railway carloadings, total tonnage shipped
Freight originating in Canada increased 3.8% from December 2016 to 27.5 million tonnes. Non-intermodal freight rose 3.8% to 298,000 carloads in December. The amount of freight loaded into these cars totalled 24.6 million tonnes, up 3.2% from December 2016.
The commodities with the largest increase in tonnage compared with December 2016 were iron ores and concentrates (+263 000 tonnes or +5.8%), coal (+237 000 tonnes or +8.9%), fuel oils and crude petroleum (+220 000 tonnes or +23.0%), gaseous hydrocarbons, including LPGs (+139 000 tonnes or +20.7%), and other oil seeds and nuts and other agricultural products (+102 000 tonnes or +22.2%).
Conversely, tonnages declined for fresh, chilled or dried vegetables (-197 000 tonnes or -52.8%), wood pulp (-85 000 tonnes or -12.8%), and nickel ores and concentrates (-75 000 tonnes or -91.9%) over the same period.
Intermodal freight loadings rose 9.2% to 195,000 units from December 2016 to December 2017. The gain stemmed from a 9.3% increase in containers-on-flat-cars, as the number of units for trailers-on-flat-cars fell by 1.0%. In terms of weight, intermodal traffic increased 9.2% to 3.0 million tonnes.
Freight traffic received from the United States rose 22.5% to 3.1 million tonnes as a result of increases in both non-intermodal (+24.0%) and intermodal (+4.9%) freight.
Chart 2
Railway carloadings, top commodities shipped
Note to readers
The Monthly Railway Carloadings Survey collects data, including the number of rail cars, tonnage, units and 20-feet equivalent units, from railways operating in Canada that provide for-hire freight service.
Non-intermodal freight is cargo moved via box cars or loaded in bulk. Intermodal freight is cargo moved via containers and trailers on flat cars.
Data are available for Canada, the eastern division and the western division. For statistical purposes, cargo loadings from Thunder Bay, Ontario to the Pacific Coast are classified to the western division, while loadings from Armstrong, Ontario to the Atlantic Coast are classified to the eastern division.
Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
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