Canada Intermodal Rail Volume Report: November 2023
RailState, the rail industry’s only provider of real-time rail network visibility, independently tracks all freight rail movements across Canada in real-time.
International Intermodal
Western Ports
Total average daily volume headed eastbound from the Western Canada ports dropped 2.3% in November compared to October. CPKC saw a larger decrease in volume, dropping 4.2% in November compared to a 0.8% decrease for CN.
Both railroads remained largely unchanged in containers per train in November. CPKC’s average containers per train fell 0.6%, just about one fewer container per train than in October. CN’s container per train volume changed less than half of a container per train.
Halifax
International container volume through Halifax increased after a few months of moderate declines. CN moved 14% more international intermodal volume in November.
Domestic Intermodal
Weekly container volume moving from the Port of Vancouver area to the Toronto area increased significantly in early November before trailing off later in the month. In the final week of November, CN moved 56.3% of domestic containers along this route.
International/Domestic Breakdown By Railway
Container breakdowns stayed largely the same in November. The international 40-foot containers account for the vast majority of volume on both railroads, with CN posting a slightly higher proportion of 40-foot containers than CPKC, 72% to 67%. Despite some larger changes in container mix earlier in the fall, both railroads have maintained consistent breakdowns over the past two months.
