Canadian rail freight volume up 18.7 percent in January

Friday, 31 March 2023 20:27:27 (GMT+3)   |   San Diego
       

According to Statistics Canada, in January, the volume of freight carried by Canadian railways reached 31.7 million tons, up 18.7 percent from January 2022 levels, marking the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year increases.

Canadian grain shipments were the largest contributor to the year-over-year increase in January 2023, partly reflecting lower volumes in January 2022 attributable to the drought across the Prairies in the summer of 2021.

The overall freight volume was much higher than normal for this time of year, exceeding the five-year monthly average of 30.4 million tons.

January's growth in total freight carried was entirely driven by domestic non-intermodal loadings (mainly commodities), as intermodal loadings (mainly containers) and freight traffic from connections with American railways both fell.

Significant increases were reported for iron ores and concentrates, with loadings rising by 19.4 percent (+799,000 tons) year over year in January, while loadings of coal increased sharply by 29.5 percent (+753,000 tons) from January 2022.

Fuel oils and crude petroleum led the declines, with loadings dipping by 10.7 percent (-112,000 tons) year over year in January, representing their eighth consecutive month of decline. Loadings of lumber followed suit, down 10.7 percent (-79,000 tons) compared with January 2022, the fourth consecutive month of decline.

In addition, loadings of iron and steel, primary or semi-finished were down 5.2 percent (-23,000 tons) from January 2022. Finally, loadings of other chemical products and preparations fell 17.9 percent (-20,000 tons) year over year in January 2023, while loadings of nickel ores and concentrates were down 18.5 percent (-13,000 tons) from January 2022 levels.

Domestic intermodal shipments—mainly containers—declined for the second consecutive month in January, edging down 1.1 percent year over year to 2.8 million tons.

In January, freight traffic from US rail connections declined year over year for the fifth consecutive month, falling by about 414 000 tons to reach 3.3 million tons in January, a decline of 11.1 percent.


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