RailState, the rail industry’s only provider of real-time rail network visibility, independently tracks all freight rail movements across Canada in real-time.
This report covers freight movements into the major Canadian ports. It excludes intermodal traffic, which is covered in a separate Intermodal Report.
Western Ports
Port of Vancouver
Overall freight volume westbound to the Port of Vancouver fell 7.4% compared to June, all driven by lower volumes on CN due to the Jasper Fire shutdown. The biggest % changes came from Grain Unit trains, which dropped 20.3%. Grain volume was impacted by the CN shutdown but July is also a seasonal low point for this traffic. Other train types showed mixed performance.
- Automotive: +7.7%
- Coal Unit: -4.3%
- Manifest: -11.6%
- Tank Car Unit trains: +8.8%
- Potash trains: +5.4%
- Sulphur Unit: +116.7%
CPKC’s share of total carload volume into the Port of Vancouver region increased to 57.4% from 53.7% in June. This was also driven by lower volumes on CN from the main line shutdown.
Prince Rupert
Freight volume to the Port of Prince Rupert fell 3.4% in July.
- Coal Unit: -31.4%
- Grain Unit: +5.7%
- Manifest: +16.7%
- Tank Car Unit trains: +6.7%
Eastern Ports
Halifax
Train volume to Halifax decreased by 4.9% in July. All train types saw decreases in volume.
- Automotive: -10.7%
- Grain Unit: 0.0%
- Manifest: -11.8%
Port of Sydney
Train volume to the Port of Sydney decreased by 11 trains in June (-45.8%).
Port of St. John
RailState recently added coverage for the Port of St. John, which sees all manifest volume. Train volume to the Port of St. John increased by 6 trains in July (+16.2%).
In July, the carload mix for the Port of St. John was:
- Box Cars: 28.2%
- Centerbeam Flatcars: 19.6%
- Hoppers: 5.0%
- Gondolas: 19.2%
- Tank Cars: 22.0%
- Vehicular Flatcars: 6.0%
Thunder Bay
Train volume to Thunder Bay increased 12.6% in July.
- Automotive: +10.0%
- Coal Unit: +100%
- Grain Unit: +4.2%
- Manifest: +14.9%
- Potash: +33.3%
CN increased its market share of freight volume into the port, growing to 29.3% in July from 28.0% in June and 25.5% in May.
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