Railway carloadings, February 2024

Released: 2024-04-23

Highlights

In February, Canadian railways transported 30.0 million tonnes of freight, 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.

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.

To further explore the latest data and historical trends in an interactive format, please visit the "Monthly Railway Carloadings: Interactive Dashboard."

Chart 1 
Railway carloadings, total tonnage

The year-over-year tonnage growth in February reflects higher non-intermodal loadings (mainly commodities) as well as a sharp rise in intermodal loadings (mainly containers).

Iron ores and concentrates carloadings up sharply

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.

Year over year, loadings of other cereal grains were up 48.5% (+251 000 tonnes) in February 2024, after posting large declines in January (-40.1%) and December (-44.3%).

In addition, loadings of potash continued a seven-month growth trend, up 10.7% (+187 000 tonnes) year over year in February, while loadings of fuel oils and crude petroleum rose by 18.2% (+143 000 tonnes) from the same month a year ago, representing the fourth consecutive increase.

Chart 2 
Railway carloadings, largest commodity differences, February 2023 to February 2024

Coal and canola carloadings remain down

In February, growth in non-intermodal loadings was moderated by large tonnage decreases for two commodities. Loadings of coal fell 11.7% (-359 000 tonnes) from February 2023. After posting strong annual growth in 2023, coal loadings registered two straight months of sharp year-over year declines in tonnage.

Loadings of canola also posted a large decrease in February 2024, down 23.0% (-201 000 tonnes) year over year. This was the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year decline, reflecting lower crop production due to less favourable growing conditions in Western Canada during 2023.

Intermodal traffic trending up

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.

Indeed, container volume reached its highest tonnage for the month of February, benefitting from stronger demand in international markets.

American freight down again

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.

Contact information

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