February 27, 2026
Canadian railways total freight volume was down 2.0% in December
Statistics Canada reports that Canadian railways transported 31.0 million tonnes of freight in December, down 2.0% compared with December 2024, mainly due to fewer shipments of iron ores and coal.
Partly offsetting these declines were loadings of other cereal grains, up 69.6% (+307 000 tonnes) from December 2024 to December 2025, and oil seeds and nuts and other agricultural products, up 61.6% (+190 000 tonnes).
Intermodal freight loadings (mainly containers) rose 2.0% year over year to 2.8 million tonnes in December 2025, representing their 10th consecutive month of growth.
Finally, freight traffic from US rail connections declined year over year for the 11th straight month, down 7.4% to 3.3 million tonnes in December 2025.