Monthly Railway Carloadings Survey (MRCS)

For Information only

This is an electronic survey example for information purposes only. This is not a working questionnaire.

Why are we conducting this survey?

This survey collects data from common carrier railways operating in Canada which are essential for the analysis of the Railway Transport Industry and the assessment of its contribution to the Canadian economy. These data provide input into the Canadian System of National Accounts for the calculation of the gross domestic product and are used by various government departments to develop policy and to monitor the industry.

Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.

Your participation in this survey is required under the authority of the Statistics Act.

Authorization to collect this information

Data are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19.

Confidentiality

By law, Statistics Canada is prohibited from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent, or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada will use the information from this survey for statistical purposes only.

Record linkages

To enhance the data from this survey and to reduce the reporting burden, Statistics Canada may combine the acquired data with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

Data-sharing agreements

Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations.

Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician, specifying the organizations with which you do not want Statistics Canada to share your data and mailing it to the following address:

Chief Statistician of Canada
Statistics Canada
Attention of Director, Canadian Centre for Transportation and Tourism Statistics
150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0T6

You may also contact us by email at statcan.esdhelpdesk-dsebureaudedepannage.statcan@statcan.gc.ca or by fax at 613-951-6583.

To reduce respondent burden, Statistics Canada has entered into a data-sharing agreement under Section 12 of the Statistics Act with Transport Canada for the sharing of information collected in this survey.

Railway carriers which are not federally regulated may object to sharing their information by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician and returning it with the completed questionnaire. Transport Canada has agreed to keep the data, from the non-federally regulated railway carriers, confidential and use them only for statistical and research purposes.

Federally-regulated railway carriers under the authority of the Canadian Transportation Act (CTA) and pursuant to the Carriers and Transportation and Grain Handling Undertakings Information Regulations do not have the right to object to sharing their information with Transport Canada. Transport Canada will use the information obtained from federally-regulated carriers in accordance with the provisions of the CTA and related Regulations.

Business or organization and contact information

  1. Verify or provide the business or organization's legal and operating name and correct where needed.

    Note: Legal name modifications should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

    • Legal name
    • Operating name (if applicable)
  2. Verify or provide the contact information of the designated business or organization contact person for this questionnaire and correct where needed.

    Note: The designated contact person is the person who should receive this questionnaire. The designated contact person may not always be the one who actually completes the questionnaire.

    • First name
    • Last name
    • Title
    • Preferred language of communication
    • Mailing address (number and street)
    • City
    • Province, territory or state
    • Postal code or ZIP code
    • Country
    • Email address
    • Telephone number (including area code)
    • Extension number (if applicable)
      The maximum number of characters is 10.
    • Fax number (including area code)
  3. Verify or provide the current operational status of the business or organization identified by the legal and operating name above.
    • Operational
    • Not currently operational (e.g., temporarily or permanently closed, change of ownership)
  4. Verify or provide the current main activity of the business or organization identified by the legal and operating name above.

    Note: The described activity was assigned using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

Description and examples

Short-haul freight rail transportation

This Canadian industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in operating railways for the transport of goods on a rail line that does not comprise a rail network. A short-haul railway line usually takes goods from one or more points to a point on the larger transportation network, which is usually a mainline railway, but may be a trans-shipment point onto another transportation mode.

Examples:

  • belt line railways
  • containerized transportation, short-haul railway
  • logging railways
  • railway transportation, freight, short-haul

Exclusions:

operating switching and terminal railways (See 488210-Support activities for rail transportation)

  • This is the current main activity
  • This is not the current main activity

Reporting instructions

(a) Report revenue freight only. Do not report on company service (O.C.S.) shipments.

(b) Part I is to be used to report cars and metric tonnes for non-intermodal traffic loaded.

(c) Part II is to be used to report total cars and metric tonnes received from other rail carriers.

(d) Part III is to be used to report number of units, TEUs and metric tonnes for total intermodal traffic loaded.

(e) Part IV is to be used to report number of units, TEUs and metric tonnes for intermodal traffic received from U.S. carriers.

(f) Weight should be reported in metric tonnes.

Select the railway loading types to report for the reference period

Select all that apply.

  • Part I - Non-intermodal loadings by commodity
  • Part II – Freight received from other rail carriers i.e., Canadian and U.S.
  • Part III – Intermodal freight loaded and forward
  • Part IV - Intermodal freight received from U.S. connections

Part I - Non-intermodal railway loadings by commodity

Select all that apply.

  • Agriculture and food products i.e., Commodity 1 to 13
  • Raw minerals i.e., Commodity 14 to 25
  • Hydrocarbons i.e., Commodity 26 to 31
  • Basic chemicals and chemicals i.e., Commodity 32 to 38
  • Forest and paper products i.e., Commodity 39 to 45
  • Cement and transformed metals i.e., Commodity 46 to 52
  • Manufactured products i.e., Commodity 53 to 58
  • Scrap and waste i.e., Commodity 59 to 60
  • Other freight i.e., Commodity 61 to 64

Part I - Loadings, non-intermodal traffic by commodity

For each of the following commodities, please indicate the number of freight cars and weight of revenue freight loaded (metric tonnes).

Agriculture & food products

  1. Wheat
  2. Other cereal grains (e.g. corn, rye, barley, oats, rice, millet and buckwheat)
  3. Fresh, chilled or dried vegetables
  4. Fresh, chilled or dried fruit and nuts
  5. Colza seeds (canola)
  6. Other oil seeds and nuts and other agricultural products (e.g.. soya beans)
  7. Animal feed, cereal straw, eggs and other animal products
  8. Meat, fish, seafood, and preparations
  9. Milled grain products and preparations, and bakery products
  10. Animal or vegetable fats, oils and flours
  11. Sugar (raw or refined, in solid or liquid form as well as molasses, maple syrup)
  12. Prepared foodstuffs (e.g. dairy prod., food preparations, fruit juices, etc.)
  13. Beverages (e.g. alcoholic and non-alcoholic)

Total for Agriculture and food products loadings

Raw minerals

  1. Sand, gravel, stones and crushed stone
  2. Salt (table salt & other salts including rock, brine and pure sodium chloride)
  3. Phosphate rock
  4. Sulphur
  5. Gypsum (incl. anhydrite)
  6. Other non-metallic minerals (e.g. clay, asbestos)
  7. Iron ores and concentrates
  8. Copper ores and concentrates
  9. Nickel ores and concentrates
  10. Lead ores and concentrates
  11. Zinc ores and concentrates
  12. Other metallic ores and concentrates ( e.g. aluminium ore, bauxite, titanium, other...)

Total for Raw material loadings

Hydrocarbons

  1. Coal (e.g. non agglomerated bituminous, anthracite, ignite and agglomerated coal)
  2. Gasoline and aviation turbine fuel
  3. Fuel oils and crude petroleum (incl. bituminous mineral oil and tar sands)
  4. Gaseous hydrocarbons (including liquid propane gas)
  5. Coal coke and petroleum coke
  6. Other refined petroleum and coal products

Total for Hydrocarbons loadings

Basic chemicals & chemicals

  1. Sulphuric acid
  2. Alumina (e.g. artificial corundum, aluminium oxide & hydroxide)
  3. Other basic chemicals
  4. Potash (potassium chloride)
  5. Fertilizers and fertilizer materials (excluding potash)
  6. Other chemical products and preparations
  7. Plastic and rubber (in primary, semi-finished or finished form)

Total for Basic chemicals and chemicals loadings

Forest and paper products

  1. Logs and other wood in the rough
  2. Wood chips
  3. Lumber
  4. Other wood products (e.g. plywood, veneer, etc.)
  5. Wood pulp
  6. Newsprint (in large rolls or sheets)
  7. Paper and paperboard (except printed products)

Total for Forest and Paper products loadings

Cement (hydraulic cements) and Transformed metals

  1. Cement
  2. Products made of non metallic minerals (e.g. mortar, concrete, ceramics, glass)
  3. Iron and steel - primary or semi-finished
  4. Copper - primary or semi-finished
  5. Aluminium - primary or semi-finished
  6. Other non-ferrous metal - primary or semi-finished
  7. Articles of base metal

Total for Cement and Transformed metals loadings

Manufactured products

  1. Machinery (e.g. engines, tools, household, agricultural or industrial mechanical products)
  2. Automobiles and mini-vans
  3. Freight motor vehicles
  4. Other vehicles
  5. Parts and accessories for motor vehicles
  6. Other transportation equipment

Total for Manufactured products loadings

Waste

  1. Metallic waste and scrap
  2. Non-metallic waste and scrap (e.g. paper, paperboard, fibre, glass, plastics, liquids)

Total for Scrap and Waste loadings

Other

  1. Other manufactured miscellaneous goods
  2. Pool car traffic of freight forwarders and shipper associations
  3. Mixed loads or unidentified freight
  4. Less-than-carload shipments (do not provide cars)

Total for Other freight loadings

Total for Part I - Non-Intermodal loadings (add lines 1 to 64)

Part II - Traffic received from other rail carriers

Please indicate the number of rail cars and weight (metric tonnes) for the following items.

  1. Traffic received from United States connections
  2. Traffic received from Canadian connections

Total for Part II – freight received from other rail carriers (Canadian and U.S.) (add lines 66 and 67)

Part III - Total intermodal freight loaded

Please indicate the number of units, TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units), and weight (metric tonnes) for the following items.

  1. Containers on flat cars (COFC); all plans
  2. Trailers on flat cars (TOFC); all plans

Total for Part III - Intermodal freight loaded (add lines 68 and 69)

Part IV - Intermodal traffic received

Please indicate the number of units, TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units), and weight (metric tonnes) for the following items.

  1. COFC included in traffic received from United States connections
  2. TOFC included in traffic received from United States connections

Total for Part IV – Intermodal freight received from U.S. connections (add lines 71 and 72)

Grand Total for Weight loadings reported from Part I to IV

Changes or events

Indicate any changes or events that affected the reported values for this business or organization compared with the last reporting period.

Select all that apply.

  • Strike or lock-out
  • Exchange rate impact
  • Price changes in goods or services sold
  • Contracting out
  • Organizational change
  • Price changes in labour or raw materials
  • Natural disaster
  • Recession
  • Change in product line
  • Sold business or business units
  • Expansion
  • New or lost contract
  • Plant closures
  • Acquisition of business or business units
  • Other - specify the other changes or events:
  • No changes or events

Contact person

Statistics Canada may need to contact the person who completed this questionnaire for further information. Is Provided Given Names, Provided Family Name the best person to contact?

  • Yes
  • No

Who is the best person to contact about this questionnaire?

  • First name
  • Last name
  • Title
  • Email address
  • Telephone number (including area code)
  • Extension number (if applicable)
    The maximum number of characters is 5.
  • Fax number (including area code)

Feedback

1. How long did it take to complete this questionnaire?

Include the time spent gathering the necessary information.

  • Hours
  • Minutes

2. Do you have any comments about this questionnaire?

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