Canadian rail freight volume increased 7.8% in May

 Freight originating in Canada rose 7.8% while freight received from the United States fell 11.1%.

Statistics Canada announced that the country’s railways carried a total of 30.9 million tonnes of freight in May, up 7.8% from the same month a year earlier.

The Federal agency reports that total rail freight originating in Canada was up 10.4% from the same month a year earlier to 30.9 million tonnes in May 2019.

Non-intermodal freight increased 11.5% from May 2018 to 27.7 million tonnes.

The commodity with the largest increase in tonnage was iron ores and concentrates (+2.2 million tonnes, or +63.1%). In contrast, tonnages declined for other oil seeds and nuts and other agricultural products (-157 000 tonnes, or -51.6%).

Intermodal freight loadings increased 0.4% from May 2018 to 215,000 units. In terms of weight, intermodal traffic increased 1.8% to 3.2 million tonnes.

Overall, freight traffic from the United States fell 11.1% to 3.5 million tonnes as a result of a 15.7% decrease in non-intermodal freight.