Canadian Rail Traffic Declined
OTTAWA - May 21/24 - SNS -- The amount of cargo handled by Canadian railways declined 4.%% from year earlier levels to 32.2 million metric tons (MT) in March, according to Statistics Canada.
The decline reflected lower volumes in domestic non-intermodal loadings (mainly commodities) as well as freight traffic received from railway connections in the United States.
Wheat loadings continued to fall during the month, down 9.9% (-278 000 MT) compared with March 2023. Similarly, carloadings of canola, on a downward trend since October 2023, dropped 28.5% (-270 000 MT) in the period from March 2023 to March 2024.
These decreases were partly offset by a large increase in carloadings of other cereal grains, up 42.9% (+215 000 MT) in March, compared with the same month in 2023.
Non-intermodal freight loadings in Canada fell 5.5% year over year in March to 25.3 million MT, led by a sharp decline in carloadings of iron ores and concentrates. In March, carloadings of iron ores and concentrates declined by 358 000 MT year over year, reflecting the softening of global steel production. Similarly, loadings of coal decreased 8.5% (-304 000 MT) in March compared with the same month in 2023.
In March 2024, intermodal shipmentsâmainly containersâoriginating in Canada also helped to offset the overall decline in loadings, rising 4.4% year over year to 3.1 million MT, a second consecutive increase.
Loadings from connections with American railways declined on a year-over-year basis for the third consecutive month in March, down 4.7% year over year to 3.8 million MT.
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