According to Statistics Canada, Canadian railways transported 32.4 million tons of freight in November, slightly above (+0.8 percent) November 2022 levels. Albeit small, this marked the first year-over-year increase in rail volumes in seven months as higher carloadings of potash, coal and wheat more than offset declines in canola and other grains.
The overall tonnage in November was above the five-year monthly average of 31.6 million tons.
In November, the overall increase in rail volumes was driven by higher volumes of non-intermodal (i.e., commodities) shipments that offset a decline in intermodal (i.e., containers) traffic.
Non-intermodal rail operations accounted for the slight increase in the overall volume of freight carried, increasing 1.3 percent year over year to 25.9 million tons in November. Potash led the pack, with loadings rising sharply by 35.7 percent (+625 000 tons) in November—the largest such gain in almost 14 years. Year over year, other decreases were reported for iron ores and concentrates, with loadings decreasing 6.5 percent (-312 000 tons) in November.
In November, domestic intermodal shipments—mainly containers—continued their downward trend for the 12th consecutive month, dipping by 1.9 percent year over year to 2.9 million tons.
Continued declines with intermodal rail volume may reflect a weakening of demand for imported goods, as Canadian international trade data reported that imports of consumer goods fell 5.8 percent year over year in November.
In November, loadings from connections with American railways totaled 3.5 million, a near-zero growth (0.0 percent) from November 2022. However, this total still represents the second-highest volume ever recorded for the month of November.