6 RAIL TRANSPORTATION
FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION
Generally, the output of railways operating in Canada
increased from 1990 to 2002. Since 2002, it has
remained steady at almost 320 billion tonne-kilometres.
While CN experienced a four per cent decrease in
revenue tonne-kilometres in 2003, down to 164 billion,
CPR output increased almost 7.5 per cent to 130 billion.
Combined output of Class II carriers dropped slightly,
from 25.7 billion tonne-kilometres in 2002 to 24.0 billion
tonne-kilometres in 2003.
From 1996 to 2000, movements of traffic forwarded to
CN and CPR from Canadian Class II carriers increased.
In 2001, however, these movements decreased slightly,
to 18.5 million tonnes, due mainly to a drop in coal traffic
from BC Rail. Since then, this traffic has continued to
increase, reaching almost 20 million tonnes in 2003. After
a two-year decrease in Class II carrier traffic received from CN and CPR, this amount rose to 10.4 million tonnes
in 2003. Traffic originating on a Canadian Class II carrier,
forwarded to CN or CPR and then forwarded to another
Canadian Class II carrier to be terminated more than
doubled in 2003, totalling 0.67 million tonnes. Because it
involves a bridge movement over CN or CPR, the latter
traffic has both a forwarded and received component and
would be double-counted if included in either forwarded or
received traffic. Addendum Table A6-7 shows the trend of
forwarded and received rail traffic since 1996, while
Addendum Table A6-8 shows tonnage originating by
railway sector since 1993.
Based on three quarters of data for 2004, CN and CPR
output is expected to increase to 191 and 141 billion
tonne-kilometres, respectively.
RAIL FREIGHT TRAFFIC — COMMODITIES
As Addendum Table A6-9 shows, annual rail loadings
increased five per cent in 2004 to reach 273 million
tonnes (not including receipts from U.S. connections).
In Western Canada, volumes increased nine per cent
to 150 million tonnes, while in Eastern Canada volumes
remained near 123 million tonnes. In Western Canada,
principal commodities loaded included coal, fertilizer
materials, forest products and grain; while in Eastern
Canada principal commodities loaded were iron ore,
other ores and mine products, forest products and
intermodal shipments.
GRAIN
After large decreases in 2002 and 2003, grain
shipments in 2004 returned to levels comparable with
those of the late 1990s, at 27.5 million tonnes. While this
was a 20 per cent increase over 2003, shipments were
still well below those volumes reported in the early 1990s,
which were between 35 and 40 million tonnes.
COAL AND COKE
After a large decline in 2003, to 31.8 million tonnes,
shipments of coal and coke increased only slightly in
2004, by four per cent to 33.1 million tonnes. This is below
the average of 38 million tonnes loaded since 1992.
FOREST PRODUCTS
Following a decline to just over 16 million tonnes in
1998, volumes of non-processed forest products
remained steady until 2002, when shipments increased
to 19 million tonnes. After dropping slightly to about
17.5 million tonnes in 2003, this commodity remained
steady at 17.8 million tonnes in 2004. The volume of
processed forest products, by contrast, has been
increasing since 1998: it reached 27.5 million tonnes in
2004, a 10 per cent increase from 2003. The net result
has been a relatively stable volume of forest products,
hovering around 40 million tonnes, until 2002, when
loadings reached 45 million tonnes. Totals have remained
near this value for the past three years.
ORES AND MINE PRODUCTS
With the exception of 2003, shipments of iron ore have
been on the rise since 1992. However, in 2004, due to
an iron ore workers strike, shipments decreased to
27.9 million tonnes.
FERTILIZER MATERIALS
Although shipments of fertilizers have fluctuated since
1992, they have been increasing since 2001. In 2004,
they reached 30.7 million tonnes, an 11 per cent increase
over 2003.
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS
The largest commodity of this group is chemicals, which
increased 11 per cent in 2004 to 16.0 million tonnes, the
highest reported value in the last 13 years. Continuing
with a steady increase, shipments of metals rose almost
11 per cent to 11.8 million tonnes. Although loadings of
automobiles and parts fell slightly to 5.1 million tonnes,
this value remains above the average for the time period
of 4.1 million tonnes. After doubling in 1998, shipments of
petroleum products have been increasing, and remained
steady at 14.4 million tonnes in 2004.
INTERMODAL
Between 1996 and 2003, CN and CPR intermodal
tonnage grew by 11.1 million tonnes, for an average
annual growth rate of 7.0 per cent. Both domestic North
American and marine–rail imports grew at an average of
9.0 per cent per year over the same five-year period (with
the exception of 1998). Marine-rail exports have been
increasing only slightly from 1996 to 2003, at an average
rate of 2.6 per cent. These intermodal traffic trends are
evident in Addendum Figure A6-1. Growth in total rail
intermodal volumes was most significant between 1998
and 1999, at 12.6 per cent. From 2002 to 2003, growth
was almost seven per cent, reaching 29.4 million tonnes;
growth for 2004 is estimated at 32 million tonnes. Figure
A6-2 in the Addendum shows the origin and destination of
CN and CPR intermodal traffic. As seen in Addendum
Figure A6-3, domestic North American intermodal
volumes increased slightly to capture a 44.6 per cent
share of the total traffic. This growth came at the expense
of rail–marine intermodal exports, which fell slightly to a
25.6 per cent share. Rail–marine intermodal imports
remained at 29.8 per cent of total intermodal traffic
in 2003.
Canadian origin–destination volumes increased by
6.9 per cent in 2003, staying at 37 per cent of total
market share.
As seen in Addendum Figure A6-4, containers on flat
cars (COFC) continued to increase their market share in
2003, accounting for more than 92 per cent of total
intermodal volumes. This is up considerably from 1996,
when COFC only accounted for 77 per cent of total
intermodal traffic. This increase was balanced by a
proportionate decrease of trailer on flat car (TOFC) volumes.
RAIL FREIGHT TRAFFIC BETWEEN
CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES
Addendum Table A6-10 shows volumes of rail export
and import by commodity since 1996. Export rail tonnage
in 2004 totalled 76.5 million tonnes, an 8.0 per cent
increase. Once again, forest products were the largest
contributor to export tonnage, increasing slightly to
28.1 million tonnes. Chemicals exports increased
significantly in 2004, up 26.9 per cent to 12.5 million
tonnes, while exports of fertilizer materials remained
steady near 9.2 million tonnes. As in 2003, iron ore
exports decreased, to 252,000 tonnes; however, these
movements by rail are still above the norm. Grain
experienced the largest increase, up 37.3 per cent to
4.5 million tonnes; this is just above the nine-year average of 4.2 million tonnes. Exports of other mine products
experienced the largest decrease, down 47.5 per cent to
a nine-year low of 2.3 million tonnes.
Addendum Table A6-11 shows values of rail export and
import by commodity since 1996. Consistently,
automotive has been the largest contributor to these
totals, accounting for 49 per cent in 2004. This was
followed by forest products at 22 per cent. Automotive
exports in 2004 were the same as 2003, while forest
products increased 23 per cent. Other value export
commodities of chemicals and metals increased in 2004,
resulting in an overall increase of export value to
$78.3 billion.
Ontario remained the largest contributor to rail export
volume and value in 2004, originating almost 25 per cent
of export volume (18.9 million tonnes) and 62 per cent of
export value ($49.3 billion).
Alberta's contribution to rail exports has been
increasing since 1996, making it the second largest
province of export by volume in 2004, when it accounted
for 18 per cent and originated 14.0 million tonnes. In
terms of value, Quebec remains the second largest
contributor to rail exports, accounting for 12 per cent and
originating $9.7 million in 2004. See Addendum tables
A6-12 and A6-13 for export volumes and values by
province of origin.
Import rail tonnage experienced a slight increase in
2004 (5.4 per cent) to 21.7 million tonnes. The largest
commodity group was chemicals, which accounted for
almost 27 per cent of rail imports while increasing only
slightly in 2004 to 5.8 million tonnes. By contrast, metals
increased 59 per cent to 2.9 million tonnes in 2004,
accounting for 13.5 per cent of total rail imports.
Automotive imports remained just above one million
tonnes in 2004, but there was a 2.9 per cent drop by
import value, to $12.2 billion. Nonetheless, automotive
remained the top commodity, accounting for 48 per cent
of import value.
As seen in Addendum Table A6-14, Ontario cleared
53 per cent of imports, 11.4 million tonnes in total.
Combined, Alberta and Quebec cleared 5.3 million tonnes
of imports in 2004, a slight decrease for both provinces.
In terms of value, Ontario was also the dominant province
of clearance, with $17.9 billion, a slight increase from
2003. This is evident in Addendum Table A6-15.
Further details on exports and imports can be seen in
Addendum tables A6-16 to A6-19, which show major
commodities originating from and cleared in the provinces
mentioned above.
BORDER CROSSING POINTS
As seen in Addendum Table A6-20, two Ontario cities,
Fort Frances and Sarnia, were the main border crossing
points for rail exports by volume in 2004: they accounted
for 19.5 per cent (14.9 million tonnes) and 16.8 per cent
(12.8 million tonnes) of exports, respectively. The major
commodities exported at these border points were forest
products and chemicals, which accounted for about
60 per cent of rail export volumes through these locations.
As seen in Addendum Table A6-21, Sarnia and
Windsor were the main border crossing points for rail
exports by value in 2004: they accounted for 33.0 per cent
($25.8 billion) and 22.0 per cent ($17.2 billion) of exports,
respectively. The top commodity exported at these
locations was automotive products, which accounted for
just over 70 per cent of rail export value at these
locations.
Sarnia was also the leading border crossing point for
import tonnage in 2004, accounting for 18.5 per cent of
total rail import volume (4.0 million tonnes). This is seen
in Addendum Table A6-22. Chemicals were the dominant
commodity group imported through Sarnia, accounting for
40 per cent of rail imports here. Other major locations as
ports of clearance included Toronto, Sault Ste. Marie,
Edmonton and Montreal.
The value of imports cleared in Toronto declined
slightly in 2004, to $4.1 billion, while those cleared in
Windsor increased to $3.9 billion. Valuable commodities
cleared in Toronto include automotive and chemicals.
Addendum Table A6-23 shows rail imports by value and
port of clearance.
OVERSEAS TRADE
In 2003, Class I railways carried 83 million tonnes of
goods to and from Canadian ports. This was up from
82 million tonnes in 2002. For the second year in a row,
traffic in transit between Canada and the United States
increased, by almost 23 per cent to 5.5 million tonnes.
Addendum Table A6-24 shows fluctuations of rail–marine
exports and imports since 1996.
Also for the second year in a row, rail–marine exports
originating in British Columbia and Alberta decreased
slightly. Those originating in Saskatchewan, however,
increased slightly, mainly due to higher exports in grains
and potash. These three provinces accounted for
79 per cent of total rail–marine exports in 2003.
Addendum Table A6-25 shows rail–marine exports since
1996 for all provinces of origin and the United States.
As in 2002, coal traffic fell by 11 per cent in 2003, to
25 million tonnes. Rail–marine exports of grain decreased
slightly to 14 million tonnes. Other agricultural and food
products experienced the largest increase in 2003, up
75 per cent to 9 million tonnes. Rail–marine exports of
fertilizer materials increased to 10.7 million tonnes, the
largest volume reported within the eight-year series of
data. Addendum Table A6-26 shows rail–marine exports
by commodity since 1996.
Rail–marine imports by Class I carriers totalled
9.2 million tonnes, a small increase. Just over 90 per cent
(8.4 million tonnes) of these imports were intermodal.
As in 2002, Ontario and Quebec in 2003 were the main
destinations of rail–marine imports, totalling 5.5 million
tonnes, or 59 per cent of the total; this was very
comparable to 2002. While rail-marine imports to Ontario
remained steady, those to Quebec increased by 13 per cent.
Rail-marine imports to the United States increased
slightly to 2.9 million tonnes. Although not as significant
as in the past, the volume of goods destined for Alberta
continued to drop, to 0.44 million tonnes in 2003.
Addendum Table A6-27 shows rail–marine imports
since 1996 for all provinces of destination and the
United States.
Although substantially less than intermodal traffic,
chemicals was the second largest commodity for
rail–marine imports in 2003, at 0.2 million tonnes. Imports
of ores and mine products continued to decline, however,
dropping 44 per cent to 0.2 million tonnes. Table A6-28
shows rail–marine imports by commodity since 1996.
Major Events in 2004
Infrastructure
Industry Structure
Employment
Energy
Freight Transportation
Passenger Traffic
Price, Productivity and Financial Performance
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