Rail Freight Handle Down in June

OTTAWA - Aug 27/08 - SNS -- Freight handled by Canada's railways declined 6.7% from year earlier levels In June, totalling 22.4 million metric tons (MT), according to Statistics Canada.

Contributing to this decline was the continued economic softness in the United States, particularly for forestry and automotive-related products, as well as delays due to flooding in the Midwestern states.

Non-intermodal loadings fell 7.2% to 20.0 million MT in June, compared with June 2007. Among the commodity classifications that experienced the largest declines were forestry products, such as lumber and wood pulp, and automotive products, such as automobiles and minivans.

Other commodities that saw decreases in loadings were wheat, potash and iron ore and concentrates.

Intermodal loadings edged down 1.9%, from June 2007 levels. This drop was the result of decreased loadings of both containers and trailers on flat cars.

Rail freight traffic coming from the United States increased to 2.8 million MT, up 12.9% from June 2007.