Statistics Canada reports that Canadian railways transported 33.2 million tonnes of freight in March, up 5.4% from March 2022 levels, marking the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year increases.
The Federal Agency notes that for March 2023, cargo tonnage was well above the five-year average for the month and second only to the record-high of 33.3 million tonnes set in the same month in 2021, primarily due to a large increase in grain shipments, notably wheat.
The non-intermodal freight loaded in Canada accounted for the overall increase in freight carried in March, rising 11.7% year over year to 26.6 million tonnes. While widespread, growth was driven by considerable increases in the loadings of some agricultural and food products-most notably grains.
Intermodal shipments-mainly containers-originating in Canada declined year over year for the fourth straight month, down 8.4% in March to 2.9 million tonnes.
Freight loadings from connections with American railways fell year over year for the seventh month in a row, down 18.3% to 3.7 million tonnes in March.