April 24, 2024

Canadian railways' total freight volume was up 4.0% in February

Statistics Canada reports that Canadian railways transported 30.0 million tonnes of freight in February, up 4.0% from February 2023. Higher shipments of iron ores, other cereal grains as well as more containers helped bolster the year-over-year growth.

The Federal Agency notes that despite some bouts of cold weather in Western Canada during February 2024, restricting train length and speed, total cargo tonnage was well above the five-year average (27.3 million tonnes) for the month of February.

Non-intermodal freight loadings in Canada rose 4.8% year over year to 23.7 million tonnes in February. Iron ores and concentrates-feedstock to produce steel-led the increase, with loadings rising 12.8% (+505 000 tonnes) from February 2023.

In February 2024, intermodal shipments-mainly containers-originating in Canada also contributed to the overall growth, increasing 11.2% year over year to 2.8 million tonnes.

Freight traffic coming from the United States declined for the second consecutive month, falling to 3.5 million tonnes in February, a decline of 5.9% from February of last year.