Methodology and concepts

The Railway Carloadings (Monthly) publication presents essential data for timely analysis of the Rail Transport Industry and its contribution to the Canadian economy. Approximately 40 rail carriers report each month on their total intermodal and non-intermodal¹ traffic of the previous month. For non-intermodal traffic, the carriers report the number of cars and tonnes by commodity of revenue-generating freight that they have loaded in Canada. For intermodal freight, the carriers report the number of units and tonnes for containers-on-flat-cars (C.O.F.C.) and trailers-on-flat-cars (T.O.F.C.), with no commodity detail. The carriers also report the total tonnage of revenue freight received from United States connections.

The total quantity of freight carried in Canada is the sum of the non-intermodal and intermodal freight loaded and the traffic received from U.S. connections. Additional information provided includes the number of units and tonnes of C.O.F.C. and T.O.F.C received from U.S. connections and the total tonnes of cargo that the carriers received from other Canadian connections. This freight that is exchanged among Canadian based carriers is counted only once in the total quantity of freight moved as it is counted only when loaded. For intermodal freight, twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) are derived from the dimensions of the freight-laden containers. Empty containers are not included in these statistics.

The data are collected via questionnaires and electronic reports that are filed with Statistics Canada eight working days after the reference month. These questionnaires are captured and edited and the data are then aggregated to produce tables for all of Canada and the Eastern and Western divisions of Canada². Tables show the data for the reference month and the year-to-date. These year-to-date figures include revisions of data from previous months.

Users of Railway Carloadings (Monthly) current and historical data should be aware of a break in the continuity of these data. Starting with the March 1999 reference period, the commodities presented in the Railway Carloadings (Monthly) publication were modified to conform to the Standard Classification of Transported Goods (SCTG) and the number of carriers surveyed more than doubled from the eighteen carriers surveyed prior to 1999. The additional carriers were primarily shortline carriers whose data were previously included with the data of mainline carriers. The change in commodity classes has had negligible impact on the reporting of bulk commodities (e.g., wheat, potash and coal) which represent the majority of the total number of cars and tonnes. However, the reporting of manufactured and miscellaneous goods has changed significantly.

Details of the commodities included in each SCTG class presented in Railway Carloadings (Monthly) are available upon request. For further information, please contact Francesca Thibeault, Transportation Division, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0T6, (Telephone : 613-951-0123, fax : 613-951-0009, Internet: thibfra@statcan.gc.ca).