Railway carloadings, October 2025

Highlights

In October, the volume of cargo carried by Canadian railways reached 33.2 million tonnes, down slightly (-0.9%) from October 2024.

Nevertheless, total freight carried in October 2025 was on par with the five-year average for the month of October (33.0 million tonnes). Large increases in carloadings of wheat and other cereal grains helped to offset lower shipments of canola as well as the continuing decline in freight traffic from US rail connections.

Consult the Rail Data Visualization Hub to explore monthly and annual rail statistics in an interactive format.

Chart 1: Railway carloadings, total tonnage

The decline in rail traffic in October was driven by lower volumes in domestic non-intermodal loadings (mainly commodities) as well as reduced freight traffic received from railway connections in the United States.

Carloadings of canola drop for the fifth consecutive month

In October, non-intermodal freight loadings in Canada edged down 0.5% year over year to 26.7 million tonnes, driven by large tonnage decreases in the loadings of several commodities, most notably canola.

Trade tensions and tariffs continued to temper demand for canola. Rail carloadings of canola, which have fallen year over year every month since June 2025, dropped 38.2% (-513 000 tonnes) in October, following steep declines in August (-70.4%) and September (-35.4%).

Similarly, loadings of potash decreased 10.8% (-234 000 tonnes) in October 2025 compared with October 2024, after five consecutive months of year-over-year increases.

Finally, loadings of lumber fell 21.2% (-156 000 tonnes) year over year in October 2025, the third month of decline in a row.

Chart 2: Railway carloadings, largest commodity differences, October 2024 to October 2025

Carloadings of wheat and other cereal grains remain strong

The tonnage declines in October were mostly offset by increases in loadings of several commodities, in particular wheat.

Wheat shipments by rail reflect a bumper harvest from more favourable growing conditions in Western Canada during 2025. Loadings of wheat rose year over year for the eighth straight month in October, up 18.7% (+501 000 tonnes) from October 2024. This followed similar increases in August (+11.6%) and September (+18.1%) 2025.

Loadings of other cereal grains were up by 62.1% (+308 000 tonnes) in October compared with October 2024, marking the fourth consecutive month of sharp growth.

Gains were also recorded for loadings of iron ores and concentrates, up 3.8% (+176 000 tonnes) in October 2025 from the same month in 2024.

Intermodal traffic continues to increase

In October, intermodal shipments—mainly containers—originating in Canada rose for an eighth consecutive month, up 4.9% year over year to 3.3 million tonnes.

Intermodal rail volume was the second-highest amount on record for the month of October.

American freight down again

In October, freight traffic from US rail connections declined year over year for the ninth consecutive month, falling to 3.2 million tonnes in October, a decline of 8.6% from the same month last year. This was also the lowest volume for the month of October in five years.

Focus on Canada and the United States

In 2023 and 2024, freight loadings from US rail connections represented on average 12.0% of total Canadian rail tonnage each month. During the first quarter of 2025, this share edged down to an average of 10.7%, then to 10.5% during the second quarter and to 10.6% in the third quarter. In October, the share dipped to 9.6%.

Statistics Canada continues to monitor potential impacts of tariffs on railway carloading statistics.

For more data and insights on areas touched by the socio-economic relationship between Canada and the United States, see the Focus on Canada and the United States webpage.