Rail Freight Volume Up In August

OTTAWA - Oct 24/07 - SNS -- Canadian railways continued to benefit from a strong summer season as total freight grew for the third consecutive month in August, reports Statistics Canada.

Railways carried 24.9 million metric tons (MT) of freight, an increase of 1.4% from the 24.6 million MT reported in July. The intermodal portion, consisting of containers and trailers loaded on flat cars, climbed 4% in August to 2.6 million MT.

The increase in intermodal loadings marks the second consecutive monthly increase and the fourth consecutive year in which loadings have increased for the month of August. The increase also marks the highest loadings for any month in 2007.

The non-intermodal portion of freight loaded increased for the third consecutive month, rising 1.1% to 22.4 million MT. The increase in non-intermodal loadings was the result of gains in tonnage in 40 of the 64 commodity classifications.

Among the largest loadings were fresh, chilled or dried vegetables, which nearly quadrupled, other cereal grains, which more than doubled, and animal feed and products, which rose 24.7%.

Loadings of coal, wheat and iron ores and concentrates declined in August following gains in July. However, coal (+22.2%), wheat (+19.1%), and iron ores and concentrates (+10.1%) each saw year-over-year double digit gains.

Freight haulage either destined for or passing through Canada from the United States rose sharply in August. Tonnage rose 10.6%, or 277 000 MT, to 2.9 million MT.

On a year-over-year-basis, intermodal loadings climbed 6.1% from August 2006, while non-intermodal tonnage edged down 0.3%. Total traffic received from the United States continued to grow, rising 18.2% from August 2006.

August's increase in traffic from the United States represents the strongest year-over-year monthly increase since 1999.