August 30, 2023
Statistics Canada reports that Canadian railways transported 28.3 million tonnes of freight in June, down 6.9% from June 2022 and the second consecutive month of year-over-year decline. Overall traffic was at its lowest level for the month of June in more than five years.
The Federal Agency notes that reduced shipments of iron ores and concentrates, potash, and fuel oils and crude petroleum were the main contributors to the overall decline. Wildfires raging across the country in June may have resulted in some supply chain adjustments.
Non-intermodal rail operations fell for the second month in a row, down 4.7% year over year to 22.1 million tonnes in June. The largest decrease was reported in iron ores and concentrates. Partially offsetting the declines in non-intermodal loadings were large increases in other commodities - most notably grains.
Intermodal shipments originating from Canada - mainly containers - continued their downward trend for the seventh straight month, declining 8.5% year over year to 2.9 million tonnes in June.
Freight traffic coming from connections with American railways was well below June 2022 levels, falling 18.6% to 3.3 million tonnes in June 2023, marking the 10th consecutive month of such decline.