Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that Canadian railroads handled 26.9 million metric tons (mt) of freight in March-up 5.6 percent year on year, and up from a 3.2 percent year-on-year gain in February.
Both intermodal and non-intermodal freight traffic rose in March, together accounting for 90 percent of total traffic in the month. Non-intermodal loadings represented that vast majority of domestic freight in March, rising 5 percent year-on-year to 21.7 million mt on increased loadings in 41 out of the 63 commodity groups, led by iron ores and concentrates.
At the international level, traffic received from the United States (either destined for or passing through Canada) rose to 2.9 million mt in March, recording a robust increase of 14.1 percent compared with March 2010.