October 27, 2021
Statistics Canada reports that Canadian railways carried 30.1 million tonnes of freight in August, up 4.7% from August 2020. Higher shipments of energy products helped year-over-year growth resume following the July -3.1% decline.
The Federal Agency notes that while August saw the third highest year-over-year growth in tonnage this year, the total freight traffic was just below the five-year average of 31.3 million tonnes for the month.
Following three straight months of year-over-year declines, non-intermodal freight loadings in Canada increased by 2.0% to 23.4 million tonnes in August, led by large increases in some hydrocarbon-based commodities.
After a decline in July due partly to the mainline disruptions caused by wildfires in British Columbia, intermodal shipments - mainly containers - originating in Canada were up 18.0% year over year to 3.2 million tonnes in August.
Freight loadings arriving from the United States saw a year-over-year increase for the sixth straight month, up 13.3% to 3.5 million tonnes in August.