According to Statistics Canada, in July, the volume of cargo carried by Canadian railways totaled 28.9 million tons, down 5.1 percent from July 2022 levels, marking the third straight month of year-over-year decline.
In July, intermodal shipments—mainly containers—originating from Canada led the overall decline in freight transported by rail, dropping by 24.0 percent year over year to reach 2.3 million tons, the lowest level for this month in over 10 years.
Non-intermodal freight loadings—mainly commodities—fell for the third month in a row, edging down 1.1 percent year over year to 23.1 million tons in July.
In July 2023, freight traffic arriving from the United States remained well below the volume posted in the previous year for the 11th month in a row. Tonnage decreased by 13.8 percent year over year to 3.5 million tons—the lowest level in four years for the month of July.