Railway carloadings, November 2023

Released: 2024-01-25

Highlights

Canadian railways transported 32.4 million tonnes of freight in November, slightly above (+0.8%) November 2022 levels. Albeit small, this marked the first year-over-year increase in rail volumes in seven months as higher carloadings of potash, coal and wheat more than offset declines in canola and other grains.

The overall tonnage in November was above the five-year monthly average of 31.6 million tonnes.

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

Chart 1 
Railway carloadings, total tonnage

In November, the overall increase in rail volumes was driven by higher volumes of non-intermodal (i.e., commodities) shipments that offset a decline in intermodal (i.e., containers) traffic.

Potash loadings lead increase

Non-intermodal rail operations accounted for the slight increase in the overall volume of freight carried, increasing 1.3% year over year to 25.9 million tonnes in November. Potash led the pack, with loadings rising sharply by 35.7% (+625 000 tonnes) in November—the largest such gain in almost 14 years.

Year over year, loadings of coal were up 18.6% (+517 000 tonnes) in November, the third consecutive month of year-over-year growth.

In addition, loadings of wheat posted a sharp year-over-year increase after two consecutive months of decline, up 9.7% (+231 000 tonnes) from November 2022.

Chart 2 
Railway carloadings, largest commodity differences, November 2022 to November 2023

Grains dampen volumes

Growth in commodity traffic in November was moderated by large declines in loadings of some agricultural products, reflecting lower crop production due to less favourable growing conditions in Western Canada during 2023.

Loadings of canola dropped by 50.9% (-598 000 tonnes) compared with November 2022—the second consecutive decline—while loadings of other cereal grains decreased for the third month in a row, down 57.2% (-401 000 tonnes) from the same month last year.

Similar trends were observed in Canadian international merchandise, with Canada's exports of farm, fishing and intermediate food products falling 19.4% year over year in November 2023.

Year over year, other decreases were reported for iron ores and concentrates, with loadings decreasing 6.5% (-312 000 tonnes) in November.

Domestic intermodal traffic continues to decline

In November, domestic intermodal shipments—mainly containers—continued their downward trend for the 12th consecutive month, dipping by 1.9% year over year to 2.9 million tonnes.

Continued declines with intermodal rail volume may reflect a weakening of demand for imported goods, as Canadian international trade data reported that imports of consumer goods fell 5.8% year over year in November.

American freight steady

In November, loadings from connections with American railways totalled 3.5 million, a near-zero growth (0.0%) from November 2022. However, this total still represents the second-highest volume ever recorded for the month of November.

Contact information

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