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12
FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION
Rail Transportation
In its Canadian operations, CN's revenue tonne-kilometres rose
to 158 billion, up from 154 billion in 1998, while CPR's
revenue tonne-kilometres dropped slightly to 113 billion, from
115 billion the previous year.
However, Class II carriers - regional and shortline railways
- experienced an estimated six per cent decrease in output in
1999, returning to a traffic level close to that of 1997, with
approximately 28 billion revenue tonne-kilometres. While several
new operations contributed to an increase in output, a drop in
iron ore traffic resulted in an overall decrease.
Output for both CN's and CPR's systems (Canadian and US operations)
increased again in 2000. CN reported 218 billion revenue
tonne-kilometres, up from 210 billion in 1999 (including Illinois
Central output), while CPR reported 161 billion tonne-kilometres,
up from 146 billion in 1999.
As a result, figures for Canadian operations are also expected
to rise for the year 2000. The estimated output (based on three
quarters of data on Canadian operations and four quarters of system
data) is 120 billion revenue tonne-kilometres for CPR and 165
billion revenue tonne-kilometres for CN.
Rail Traffic - Trade with the US
Exports
In 1999, exports increased 4.8 per cent over 1998 levels in
terms of tonnage to 59 million tonnes and 25 per cent
in terms of value. As Table 12-1 shows, exports in certain commodity
sectors decreased, namely coal, agricultural and food products,
and fertilizers. On the other hand, exports in some sectors increased
significantly. Forest products comprised the most prominent sector
in terms of tonnage, accounting for 36 per cent of total
export tonnage. In terms of value, however, forest products ranked
second to automotive vehicles and parts, which accounted for nearly
55 per cent of the value of exports. Trade in vehicles
and parts rose by 35 per cent in terms of tonnage and 45 per cent
in terms of value, and was the main contributor to the overall
increase in the value of exports.
Ontario was the major contributor to growth, with 1.2 million
more tonnes exported than in 1998; over half of this increase
was attributable to automotive products. As Table 12-2 shows,
Ontario continued to account for the largest portion of exports,
increasing its share marginally to 29.4 per cent of
tonnage. Saskatchewan, Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia had
shares ranging from 14 to 19 per cent. In terms
of percentage growth in exports in 1999, however, the other provinces
and territories experienced the greatest increase. Prince Edward
Island nearly tripled its exports eventually crossing the US border
by rail, while Nova Scotia saw a 75 per cent increase. The territories
also increased their rail exports substantially. For each of these
regions, forest products, lumber and wood pulp in particular,
were the main contributors to growth.
Imports
From 1998 to 1999, rail imports decreased in tonnage by 11
per cent to 15.4 million tonnes, and in value by 3.5 per
cent to $20.2 billion. As Table 12-1 shows, increases in the imports
of relatively low-valued mine products and agricultural and food
products were outweighed by decreases in the imports of higher-valued
manufactured products. In terms of commodity shares, chemicals
ranked the highest, with a 29 per cent share of total tonnage.
By value, automotive products accounted for over half of imports,
by far the largest share.
Table 12-2 shows that about half of all imports were cleared
through customs in Ontario; this province also contributed the
largest increase in imported tonnage from 1998 to 1999 (0.9 million
tonnes). British Columbia and Quebec each accounted for 14 per
cent of imports (cleared), while Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba
together cleared 20 per cent.
Rail Traffic - Overseas Trade
Each year, shipments to and from Canadian ports account for
a substantial amount of rail traffic. In 1999, Class I railways
carried 84.8 million tonnes of goods to and from Canadian ports.
Rail - Marine Exports
Grain, sulphur, gypsum, coal and potash accounted for 84 per
cent of the 77.7 million tonnes shipped to port by Class I carriers.
At 32.4 million tonnes, coal was the largest of these commodities,
followed by grain at 20.2 million tonnes. Potash, sulphur
and gypsum accounted for 5.1, 4.4 and 3.1 million tonnes,
respectively, while forest products accounted for a further 2.5
million tonnes.
Intermodal shipments, mostly mixed and finished goods, totalled
6.4 million tonnes, or eight per cent of total rail-marine exports.
Ontario accounted for 1.9 million tonnes of intermodal
shipments, followed by the United States at 1.7 million tonnes
and Quebec at 1.3 million tonnes.
Rail - Marine Imports
In 1999, Class I rail shipments from marine ports remained
unchanged from the previous year, at 7.1 million tonnes, 84 per
cent of which consisted of intermodal movements. Phosphate rock,
with 0.7 million tonnes imported, remained the most prominent
single commodity. Of all goods shipped in from marine ports, the
majority went to Ontario (2.6 million tonnes), followed by Quebec
(2.1 million tonnes) and the United States (1.1 million tonnes).
British Columbia was the end destination for just under one million
tonnes of goods shipped in from port by rail.
Rail Traffic - Commodity Sectors
Annual rail loadings reached their highest levels in over a
decade, with 278 million tonnes loaded in 2000.Note 1 Volumes were
approximately split between eastern and western loadings, although
the commodity mixes differed geographically. Ores and mine products,
forest products and intermodal shipments dominated in the east,
while grain, coal and fertilizers were the major commodities loaded
in the west. Figure 12-1 shows monthly loadings from 1998
to 2000.
Grain
Grain traffic in 2000 exceeded that of the previous two years
as shown in Figure 12-2. Annual tonnage reached 30.9 million,
almost 17 per cent higher than in 1999. Grain continued to be
one of the most important commodities shipped by rail, accounting
for 11 per cent of total annual tonnage loaded.
Forest Products
Loadings of processed forest products such as lumber and paper
continued to grow, up about six per cent from 1999 to 23.7 million
tonnes. Most of the increased loadings were from the eastern provinces.
Flows of unprocessed products remained level, at 16.7 million
tonnes. Forest products in total accounted for 14.5 per cent
of annual rail tonnage.
Ores and Mine Products
Iron ore flows rebounded to 1998 levels with a total of 39
million tonnes loaded. Other ores and mine product traffic continued
to grow to its highest level in over a decade, up seven per cent
from 1999 to 24.5 million tonnes. In this group, alumina accounted
for about five million tonnes loaded. Building materials
(sand, gravel, crushed stone, and cement) and nickel, lead and
zinc ores and concentrates together accounted for another 10 million
tonnes.
The ores and mine products group made up 23 per cent of total
rail traffic loaded in 2000, compared with 21 per cent
the previous year.
Fertilizers and Fertilizer Materials
Potash made up 52 per cent of this category, with 14.2 million
tonnes loaded in 2000. This traffic level was up seven per cent
from last year. Sulphur loadings reached 7.5 million tonnes,
comparable with 1999.
The pattern of phosphate rock shipments established last year
continued. Since a domestic source was discovered, use of imported
material dropped off and 0.5 million tonnes were shipped
from Ontario westward by rail in 2000.
Fertilizers and fertilizer materials accounted for 27.2 million
tonnes in aggregate, 10 per cent of total traffic loaded in 2000.
Coal
Coke and coal shipments were down from 43.3 million tonnes
in 1999 to 40.6 million tonnes in 2000, closer to 1998 levels.
The drop in traffic may have been partly attributable to the August
2000 closure of the Quintette coal mine in Tumbler Ridge, British
Columbia, due to falling coal prices.
Coal accounted for 14.5 per cent of total loadings.
Industrial Products
Metals, autos and parts, refined petroleum products and chemicals
accounted for 14.5 per cent of traffic loaded in 2000.
Metals and automotive traffic remained comparable with 1999
levels, with loadings reaching 9.3 and 5.0 million tonnes,
respectively. Petroleum product traffic grew four per cent to
11.4 million tonnes, and chemical traffic rose eight per cent
to 14.5 million tonnes.
Intermodal
Although the intermodal sector did not post the exceptional
growth experienced in 1999, it did grow by over 10 per cent in
2000 to reach 26.1 million tonnes. Container-on-flat-car traffic
increased 10 per cent to 24.4 million tonnes, and trailer-on-flat-car
traffic increased eight per cent to 1.6 million tonnes. Slightly
more loadings occurred in eastern Canada than in the west.
Intermodal traffic accounted for 9.4 per cent of total loadings
in 2000.
Rail Transportation
NOTES:
1
Preliminary data.
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