Railway carloadings, February 2018
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Released: 2018-04-25
27.2 million tonnes
February 2018
-0.2% 
(12-month change)
The volume of rail freight carried in Canada totalled 27.2 million tonnes in February, down 0.2% from February 2017.
Chart 1
Railway carloadings, total tonnage shipped
Freight originating in Canada decreased 1.8% from the same month last year to 24.2 million tonnes. Non-intermodal freight fell by 2.1% to 264,000 carloads in February. The amount of freight loaded into these cars fell 2.3% from February 2017 to 21.4 million tonnes.
In February, the commodities with the largest increase in tonnage compared with February 2017 were iron ores and concentrates (+522 000 tonnes or +12.9%), potash (+198 000 tonnes or +13.2%), gypsum (+88 000 tonnes or +215.7%), other metallic ores and concentrates (+84 000 tonnes or +35.1%) and alumina (+79 000 tonnes or +29.9%).
Conversely, tonnages declined over the same period for colza seeds (canola) (-289 000 tonnes or -33.3%), wheat (-260,000 tonnes or -17.6%) and fresh, chilled or dried vegetables (-170 000 tonnes or -42.7%).
Intermodal freight loadings rose 5.0% from February 2017 to 187,000 units in February 2018. The gain stemmed from a 5.0% increase in containers-on-flat-cars, and an 8.3% increase for trailers-on-flat-cars. In terms of weight, intermodal traffic increased 2.3% to 2.7 million tonnes.
Freight traffic received from the United States rose 14.3% to 3.0 million tonnes as a result of increases in both non-intermodal (+15.0%) and intermodal (+5.6%) 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).
- Date modified: