Railway carloadings, April 2025
Released: 2025-06-25
32.7 million metric tonnes
April 2025
-1.3% 
(12-month change)
Highlights
In April, the volume of cargo carried by Canadian railways reached 32.7 million tonnes, down 1.3% from April 2024.
Despite this decline, total freight carried exceeded the five-year average of 31.6 million tonnes for the month of April, as increases in loadings of iron ores, wheat and coal helped to offset a decrease in freight loadings from US rail connections.
To 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 decrease in total rail freight in April 2025 was entirely attributable to lower volumes of freight traffic from connections with American railways, while domestic non-intermodal loadings (mainly commodities) and intermodal loadings (mainly containers) both saw gains.
Carloadings of iron ores, wheat and coal increase sharply
Non-intermodal freight loadings (mainly commodities) in Canada were up for the second consecutive month, rising 1.8% year over year to 26.1 million tonnes in April, led by large increases in three commodities.
Leading the way in April was iron ores and concentrates, with loadings rising 8.2% (+370 000 tonnes) from April 2024. This was followed by loadings of wheat, up 13.4% (+365,000) in April 2025 compared with April 2024, and loadings of coal, which increased by 9.4% (+310 000 tonnes) over the same period.
Chart 2
Railway carloadings, largest commodity differences, April 2024 to April 2025
Carloadings of fuel oil and crude petroleum, and lumber remain down
Growth in non-intermodal freight traffic was moderated by large tonnage decreases for three commodities.
Loadings of fuel oil and crude petroleum declined for a fifth consecutive month and were down 17.4% (-168 000 tonnes) in April 2025 compared with the same month in 2024. Similarly, Canada's exports of energy products (-7.9%) posted a third consecutive monthly decline in April, led mainly by a decrease in crude oil exports (-11.7%), as reported by the Canadian international merchandise trade data.
Loadings of lumber—on a downward trend since November 2024—fell 16.2% (-130 000 tonnes) in April 2025 compared with April 2024, while loadings of sand, gravel and crushed stone were 33.7% (-113 000 tonnes) below April 2024 levels, following a healthy 14.9% increase in March.
Intermodal traffic up again
In April 2025, intermodal shipments—mainly containers—originating in Canada increased year over year for the second month in a row, up 2.8% to 3.3 million tonnes.
Intermodal rail volume was the highest on record for the month of April, reflecting the year-over-year increase in Canadian imports of consumer goods (+7.7%), as reported by the Canadian international merchandise trade data for April.
American freight traffic continues to drop
In April 2025, loadings from connections with American railways accounted for the decrease in the overall volume of freight transported by Canadian railways, dropping by 23.3% year over year to 3.2 million tonnes. This was the lowest volume recorded for the month of April in five years and came on the heels of large year-over-year drops in February (-26.2%) and March (-15.1%) 2025.
Canadian international merchandise trade data show that Canada's imports (-37.9%) and exports (-15.2%) by rail with the United States were down significantly year over year in April 2025.
Focus on Canada and the United States
Amid trade tensions between Canada and the US, freight traffic from US rail connections was down 23.3% (or -973 000 tonnes) year over year to 3.2 million tonnes in April 2025, the third straight month of double-digit declines in tonnage.
In 2023 and 2024, railway carloadings received from US connections represented on average 12.0% of total rail tonnage. This share edged down to 11.3% in January 2025, then to just over 10% in February and March, and fell to 9.8% in April.
Statistics Canada continues to monitor potential impacts of tariffs on railway carloading statistics. For more data and insights on areas touched by the socio-economic relationship between Canada and the United States, see the Focus on Canada and the United States webpage.
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Note to readers
The Monthly Railway Carloadings Survey collects data on the number of rail cars, tonnage, units and 20-feet equivalent units from railway transporters operating in Canada that provide for-hire freight services.
Cargo loadings from Armstrong, Ontario, to the Atlantic Coast are classified to the eastern division (Eastern Canada), while loadings from Thunder Bay, Ontario, to the Pacific Coast are classified to the western division (Western Canada).
Survey data are revised on a monthly basis to reflect new information.
The data in this release are not seasonally adjusted.
The Transportation Data and Information Hub, featuring data from Statistics Canada, Transport Canada and partners, provides Canadians with online access to comprehensive statistics and indicators for the country's transportation sector.
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; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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