Railway carloadings, April 2026
Released: 2026-06-26
33.0 million metric tonnes
April 2026
0.6% 
(12-month change)
Highlights
In April, the volume of cargo carried by Canadian railways edged up (+0.6%) from April 2025 to 33.0 million tonnes.
The overall freight volume in April 2026 was above the five-year average of 32.2 million tonnes for the month, with higher carloadings of some agricultural products and other commodities offsetting large declines in coal and iron ores.
Consult the Rail Data Visualization Hub to explore monthly and annual rail statistics in an interactive format.
Chart 1
Railway carloadings, total tonnage
The year-over-year increase in total freight carried in April 2026 reflected a higher volume of freight traffic received from railway connections in the United States, as domestic non-intermodal loadings (mainly commodities) and intermodal loadings (mainly containers) both declined.
Coal carloadings lead decline
Domestic non-intermodal rail carloadings edged down 0.8% to 26.0 million tonnes in April compared with the same month in 2025, on large decreases in loadings of coal as well as iron ores and concentrates.
Loadings of coal fell year over year for a second consecutive month, dropping by 862 000 tonnes in April 2026—the largest such drop in almost six years.
In April, loadings of iron ores and concentrates were down 6.9% (-340 000 tonnes) compared with April 2025, while loadings of iron and steel, primary or semi-finished fell 26.7% (-101 000 tonnes).
Chart 2
Railway carloadings, largest commodity differences, April 2025 to April 2026
Carloadings of some agricultural products remain strong
The tonnage declines in April 2026 were mostly offset by large increases in carloadings of some agricultural products.
Rail carloadings of fresh, chilled or dried vegetables rose year over year for the fifth consecutive month, surging by 127.7% (+264 000 tonnes) in April 2026, on the heels of substantial year-over-year gains in February (+227.3%) and March (+182.1%).
Loadings of canola also posted strong growth in April 2026, up 27.3% (+225 000 tonnes) year over year, while loadings of other cereal grains were up for a 10th straight month, rising 21.4% (+168 000 tonnes) from April 2025.
These rail movements reflect trends in Canadian exports of farm, fishing and intermediate food products during the same month.
Intermodal traffic down
In April 2026, rail intermodal shipments—mainly containers—originating in Canada declined year over year for the second month in a row, down 2.6% year over year to 3.2 million tonnes.
Freight from the United States continues to gain
In April 2026, freight traffic arriving from the United States remained above the volume posted in the previous year for the third consecutive month. Tonnage grew sharply by 14.7% compared with the same month in 2025, reaching 3.8 million tonnes and matching the five-year average (3.8 million tonnes) for the month of April.
Focus on Canada and the United States
Over 2023 and 2024, freight loadings from US rail connections into Canada represented an average of 12.0% of total rail tonnage each month. In 2025, this share averaged 10.4% of total monthly rail tonnage. This proportion edged up to a monthly average of 10.9% during the first quarter of 2026 and then 11.4% 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 web page.
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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