According to Statistics Canada, the volume of rail freight carried in Canada totaled 27.9 million tons in July, down 7.9 percent from the same month last year. From July 2011 to July 2016, the total volume of rail freight carried in Canada increased by 7.7 percent.
In July, freight originating in Canada decreased 6.4 percent from the same month last year to 25.4 million tons. These shipments were composed of both non-intermodal and intermodal freight.
Non-intermodal freight fell 6.9 percent to 272,000 carloads in July.
The amount of freight loaded into these cars totaled 22.6 million tons, down 7.1 percent from the same month last year. The decline mainly reflected a decrease in loadings of colza seeds (canola) (-11.1 percent), iron ores and concentrates (-13.6 percent), wheat (-18.1 percent), and fuel oils and crude petroleum (-28.5 percent). Tonnage of potash, and fuel oils and crude petroleum shipped by rail was down year over year for the ninth consecutive month.
Intermodal freight loadings edged down 0.5 percent year over year to 190,000 units. In terms of weight, intermodal traffic fell 0.4 percent to 2.8 million tons, as a result of a decrease in loadings on trailers on flat cars.
Freight traffic received from the United States fell 20.8 percent to 2.5 million tons in July, as a result of a 23.2 percent decrease in non-intermodal freight. Intermodal freight from the United States increased 11.8 percent.