Canada Ports Rail Volume Report: April 2024
RailState, the rail industry’s only provider of real-time rail network visibility, independently tracks all freight rail movements across Canada in real-time.
Western Ports
Port of Vancouver
Freight volume westbound to the Port of Vancouver dipped slightly in April, falling 1.0% compared to March. The biggest % changes came from Automotive trains, which increased 57.1% from the previous month, and Sulphur unit trains, which fell 38.5%. These trains represent a small portion of volume into the port, accounting for only 5% of westbound train volume combined.
Grain trains were the only major commodity type with a noticeable increase, growing 7.8% over the previous month. Unit trains were mostly down.
Coal Unit: -2.6%
Tank Car Unit trains: -13.0%
Potash Unit: -17.9%
Despite these declines, overall train volume through the Port of Vancouver was higher in April, driven by increases in Intermodal traffic, which we’ve covered in a separate report.
CPKC’s share of total carload volume into the port was 6 points higher than CN’s.
Prince Rupert
Freight volume to the Port of Prince Rupert fell 13.3% in April. Manifest volume was down 51.2% from March, and Grain volume fell 12.8%.
Tank Car Unit trains were up 13.3% and Coal Unit volume increased 5%.
Prince Rupert also saw significant increases in Intermodal volume in April.
Eastern Ports
Halifax
Train volume to Halifax increased marginally in April, up 1.7%, led by growth in Manifest trains. Grain trains fell 20.8% and Automotive trains were down 10% from March.
Port of Sydney
Train volume to the Port of Sydney was unchanged from March.
Thunder Bay
Train volume to Thunder Bay grew 34% in April, driven by a 76% increase in Grain volume. Grain train volume to Thunder Bay has increased from the start of the year and now accounts for 47% of total train volume into Thunder Bay.
CPKC moves the lion’s share of carloads into the port but CN’s share has increased in recent months. In January, CN accounted for only 10% of volume to the port.
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