Canadian Railcar Loadings Up On Year

OTTAWA - Apr 23/08 - SNS -- Canadian railcar loadings were up over year earlier levels during February, though the shorter month resulted in a drop from January's handling volume, according to Statistics Canada.

The Canadian railway industry loaded about 21.5 million metric tons (MT) in February, a 5.1% decline from January, but above the 20.1 million MT handled the previous year when a 15-day strike affecting traffic flows.

While the extra day brought on by having a leap year had an impact on the increased year-over-year loadings, the industry was not without its own challenges during the month. In particular, the industry faced a number of derailments and the continued effects of a harsh winter.

Non-intermodal loadings, which comprise the majority of the loadings for the industry, decreased 5.1% to 19.3 million MT. The decrease in loadings was widespread, with declines in 49 of the 64 commodity classifications.

Despite this drop, manufactured products continued its strong growth, with double-digit increases in three of its core commodity classifications. These include freight motor vehicles (+40.4%), automobiles and minivans (+22.4%) and parts and accessories for motor vehicles (+13.6%).

The rise in automotive loadings may be the result of dealerships stocking their lots with new vehicles in anticipation of demand from price reductions and incentives offered by manufacturers.

A similar picture can be painted on the intermodal loadings side of things, as loadings decreased 5.7% to 2.2 million MT in February.

The decrease was primarily the result of a drop in containerized cargo shipments, which fell 5.8% to 2.1 million MT.

Rail freight traffic coming from the United States also fell for the month, declining 2.3% to 2.7 million MT.

On a year-over-year basis, commodity loadings transported within and into Canada rose in February. Traffic received from the United States led the way, climbing 20.6% from February 2007, while non-intermodal and intermodal loadings rose 7.2% and 6.5%, respectively.

The annual increase in tonnage from US inbound traffic is attributable to a 22.5% rise in the number of carloadings.