Canadian Rail Traffic Up in September

OTTAWA - Nov 30/11 - SNS -- Rail freight traffic increased in Canada in September, totalling 27.4 million metric tons (MT), up 12.9% from September 2010, according to the Statistics Canada.

Loadings in the railway industry's core domestic non-intermodal and intermodal transportation systems increased 11.2% to 24.2 million MTin September compared with the same month a year earlier.

Non-intermodal freight loadings rose 12.1% from September 2010 levels to 21.8 million MT The gain was spurred by increased traffic in more than half of the commodity classifications carried by the railways. The commodity groups with the largest increases in tonnage were potash, lumber and colza seeds (canola).

Intermodal freight loadings of containers and trailers on flat cars rose 3.7% from the same month a year earlier to 2.4 million MTin September. The increase occurred solely on the strength of containerized cargo shipments.

Internationally, traffic received from the United States destined for or passing through Canada rose to 3.2 million MTin September, an increase of 27.4% compared with September 2010. The gain was driven primarily by increased loadings of non-intermodal freight.

From a geographic perspective, 58.4% of the freight traffic originating in Canada was in the Western Division of Canada, with the remainder loaded in the Eastern Division. For statistical purposes, the Eastern and Western Divisions are separated by an imaginary line running from Thunder Bay to Armstrong, Ontario. Freight loaded at Thunder Bay is included in the Western Division while loadings at Armstrong are reported in the Eastern Division.