Railway carloadings, February 2021

Released: 2021-04-26

Highlights

In February, Canadian railways carried 27.2 million tonnes of freight, up 1.0% from February 2020. This marked the fourth consecutive year-over-year monthly increase in tonnage.

The overall tonnage was higher than the five-year average for this month and near the peak of 27.3 million tonnes reached in February 2017.

To further explore the current and historical data in an interactive and an easy-to-use format, we invite you to visit our new Monthly Railway Carloadings: Interactive Dashboard.

Chart 1 
Railway carloadings, total tonnage

Intermodal loadings drive increase

Domestic intermodal loadings—mainly containers—accounted for the increase in the volume of cargo carried in February, surging to 2.8 million tonnes, up 42.0% from February 2020. This came on the heels of a 20.2% year-over-year gain in January. It appears that the replenishment of inventories and higher imports of some consumer goods in February helped to create stronger demand for multimodal containerized transport to dispatch larger and quicker shipments of food and consumer goods in the wake of COVID-19.

Energy products continue to dampen volumes

Following a year-over-year increase of 8.6% in January, domestic non-intermodal freight loadings edged down by 0.3% to 21.7 million tonnes in February compared with the same month in 2020—driven mainly by an ongoing decline in the loadings of some hydrocarbon-based commodities.

Loadings of fuel oils and crude petroleum have fallen year over year for 11 straight months, slumping by 55.6% (-1 230 000 tonnes) in February. This drop followed large year-over-year declines in January (-45.1%) and December (-40.5%).

Similarly, gasoline and aviation turbine fuel loadings, on a downward trend since April 2020, decreased 49.6% (-115 000 tonnes) compared with February 2020 levels, as travel restrictions continued to weaken demand. Other refined petroleum and coal products were down by 15.6% (-57 000 tonnes)—a third consecutive month of decline.

In February, potash loadings declined for the first time in nine months, down by 5.5% (-87 000 tonnes) from the same month a year earlier. Loadings of logs and other wood in the rough dropped by 77.7% (-53 000 tonnes) from February 2020, following similar year-over-year declines in January (-76.4%) and December (-71.4%).

Chart 2 
Railway carloadings, by product, difference from February 2020 to February 2021 

Iron ores and concentrates remain strong

Several commodities recorded large increases in February, and this helped to offset the above-noted declines.

Loadings of iron ores and concentrates posted a year-over-year gain for a fourth consecutive month—rising by 17.0% (+631 000 tonnes) from February 2020—reflecting a continued rebound in steel production. Indeed, the agency's Monthly Survey of Manufacturing reported a year-over-year increase of 13.5% for primary metal manufacturing sales in February.

Likewise, loadings of many agricultural and food products have continued on an upward trend throughout the pandemic. Wheat loadings have risen year over year for 10 straight months, up 19.5% (+277 000 tonnes) in February, following strong increases in January (+29.1%) and December (+21.4%).

In addition, loadings of other oil seeds and nuts, and other agricultural products grew by 117.4% (+149 000 tonnes) from February 2020, marking the seventh consecutive month of large year-over-year growth.

Similarly, loadings of canola, which have increased each month since February 2020, rose 15.9% (+131 000 tonnes) in February compared with the same month in 2020.

Finally, loadings of gaseous hydrocarbons, including liquid petroleum gas, were 39.0% (+250 000 tonnes) higher in February compared with the same month last year, after posting a substantial year-over-year increase in January (+21.2%).

American freight continues to slide

Freight traffic coming from the United States remained well below February 2020 levels, falling 15.4% to 2.7 million tonnes, marking the eleventh consecutive month of decline.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).