According to Statistics Canada, in July, the volume of cargo carried by Canadian railways reached 30.2 million tons, up 5.6 percent from July 2021 levels. The overall freight volume was also the highest level since July 2019, before the pandemic, just under the five-year monthly average of 30.9 million tons.
The tonnage of non-intermodal freight loadings was up for the third consecutive monthly year-over-year period, rising 7.1 percent year over year to 23.3 million tons in July, driven largely by increases in carloadings of some energy commodities.
Loadings of iron ores and concentrates continued on a five-month growth trend, up 4.9 percent (+236,000 tons) year over year in July, while loadings of mixed loads or unidentified freight were up by 136,000 tons―more than 12 times the volume recorded in July 2021.
Growth in freight traffic in July was moderated by declines in loadings of several commodities, in particular grain. Loadings of canola have fallen year over year for 17 straight months, dropping by 67.1 percent (-337 000 tons) in July, following large declines in June (-59.4 percent) and May (-57.8 percent).
Domestic intermodal shipments—mainly containers—also contributed to the overall growth in freight traffic in July, rising 4.6 percent year over year to 3.0 million tons. This was the highest volume recorded for the month of July in three years.
This growth appears to reflect strong consumer demand in both Canadian and international markets, with businesses restocking inventories as supply chains recover. Indeed, Canada's imports (+16.2 percent) and exports (+7.0 percent) of consumer goods were up year over year in July, according to July data on Canadian international merchandise trade.
Freight traffic coming from the United States remained high in July despite a 1.6 percent dip from July 2021, after 15 consecutive monthly year-over-year gains. Tonnage edged down by about 61 000 tons to reach 3.8 million tons in July 2022—the third highest level on record for the month of July.