According to Statistics Canada, the volume of rail freight carried in Canada totaled 32.8 million tons in July, up 9.5 percent from the same month a year earlier.
Freight originating in Canada rose 11.2 percent from the same month last year to 29.5 million tons in July. Non-intermodal freight increased by 11.7 percent to 315,000 carloads. The amount of freight loaded into these cars rose 12.6 percent from July2017 to 26.5 million tons.
In July, the largest increase in tonnages was for iron ores and concentrates on a year-over-year basis (+818 000 tons or +16.9 percent). Fuel oils and crude petroleum rose by double digits for the third month in a row to 1 599 000 tons (+613 000 or +62.2 percent) and was 19.5 percent higher year to date compared with the same period last year.
Tonnages also increased for potash (+511 000 tons or +35.7 percent), fresh, chilled or dried vegetables (+160 000 tons or +259.1 percent) and iron and steel, primary or semi-finished (+95 000 tons or +31.8 percent) compared with July 2017.
Conversely, tonnages declined for coal (-78 000 tons or -2.8 percent) and wood pulp (-50 000 tons or -7.6 percent).
Intermodal freight loadings rose 1.9 percent from July 2017 to 210,000 units in July. In terms of weight, intermodal traffic rose 0.2 percent to 3.0 million tons.
Freight traffic received from the United States declined 3.5 percent to 3.3 million tons as a result of a 5.1 percent decrease in non-intermodal freight.