Railway carloadings, January 2018
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Released: 2018-03-28
30.1 million tonnes
January 2018
3.0% 
(12-month change)
The volume of rail freight carried in Canada totalled 30.1 million tonnes in January, up 3.0% from January 2017. The gain was largely attributable to a 25.5% increase in traffic received from United States connections.
Chart 1
Railway carloadings, total tonnage shipped
Freight originating in Canada increased 0.7% from the same month last year to 26.7 million tonnes. Non-intermodal freight fell by 0.6% to 288,000 carloads in January, while the amount of freight loaded into these cars rose 0.3% to 23.7 million tonnes.
In January, the commodities with the largest increase in tonnage were other cereal grains (+252 000 tonnes or +97.2%), wheat (+209 000 tonnes or +14.1%), coal (+204 000 tonnes or +7.8%), iron ores and concentrates (+166 000 tonnes or +4.0%), and fuel oils and crude petroleum (+130 000 tonnes or +12.4%) compared with January 2017.
Conversely, tonnages declined for colza seeds (canola) (-339 000 tonnes or -28.7%), other oil seeds and nuts and other agricultural products (-219 000 tonnes or -37.2%) and wood pulp (-99 000 tonnes or -14.5%).
Intermodal freight loadings rose 3.3% from January 2017 to 197,000 units in January. The gain stemmed from a 3.4% increase in containers-on-flat-cars, as the number of units for trailers-on-flat-cars fell by 6.5%. In terms of weight, intermodal traffic increased 3.8% to 3.0 million tonnes.
Freight traffic received from the United States rose 25.5% to 3.4 million tonnes, as a result of increases in both non-intermodal (+26.1%) and intermodal (+18.0%) 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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