According to Statistics Canada, the volume of rail freight carried in Canada totaled 28.3 million tons in April, a 7.2 percent decrease from the same month last year. From April 2011 to April 2016, the total volume of rail freight carried in Canada increased 5.7 percent.
In April, freight originating in Canada decreased 5.5 percent from the same month last year to 25.7 million tons. These shipments are composed of both non-intermodal and intermodal freight.
Non-intermodal freight fell 5.1 percent to 280,000 carloads in April. The amount of freight loaded into these cars totaled 22.9 million tons, down 5.9 percent from the same month last year. This fall mainly reflected a decrease in loadings of coal, potash and fuel oils and crude petroleum. This was the sixth consecutive year-over-year monthly decline in the tonnage of coal, potash, and fuel oils and crude petroleum shipped by rail.
Intermodal freight loadings fell 1.7 percent year over year to 187,000 units. In terms of weight, intermodal freight fell 2.4 percent to 2.8 million tons, as a result of a decrease in containers and trailers on flat cars.
Freight traffic received from the United States fell 21.6 percent to 2.6 million tons, as a result of a 23.3 percent decrease in non-intermodal freight.