Welcome to RAC’s Weekly Traffic Dashboard. On this page you’ll find information on the latest rail traffic trends, including a breakdown by commodity: grain & fertilizers (incl. potash); intermodal; forest products; automotive; coal; metals and minerals; and energy, chemicals and plastics.
New data released every Tuesday – stay up to date with an email subscription.
Canadian Class 1 Freight Traffic
Last updated on November 5, 2026
In week 42 of 2026 (October 18 – October 24), Canadian Class 1 (CN and CPKC) network-wide carloads were up 5% and revenue ton-miles (RTMs) were up 10% compared to the same week in 2025. Across their North American networks, carloads and RTMs increased for grain & fertilizers; intermodal; metals and minerals; energy, chemicals and plastics; and forest products, while decreasing for coal; and automotive.
Across the first 42 weeks of 2026, Canadian Class 1 network-wide carloads were up 1% and RTMs were up 4% compared to the same period in 2025 (+61,929 carloads and +14,719 million RTMs). Growth was driven by increases of grain & fertilizers (+118,669 carloads, or +10%; +14,059 million RTMs, or +12%), followed by energy, chemicals and plastics; and metals and minerals. Gains were partially offset by reductions in coal and forest products. Automotive and intermodal year-to-date RTMs remain higher compared to the same period in 2025 though carloads are relatively flat—indicating an increase in the average length of haul.
* Includes potash.
The dates indicate the first day of the week (e.g., “04-Jan” corresponds to the week of January 4 to 10). Canadian Class 1 data includes the network-wide operations of CN and CPKC.
Western Canadian Grain
In the 2025-2026 crop year (August 2025 – July 2026), CN and CPKC moved 64.0 million metric tonnes of Canadian grain and grain products – 15% higher than the previous 3-year average.
In week 12 (October 18 – October 24) of the 2026-2027 crop year, CN and CPKC moved more than 1.4 million metric tonnes of Canadian grain and grain products.
Crop year-to-date grain volumes (12 weeks)
15.6 million metric tonnes | +16% vs previous 3-year average
Notes: Data on Canadian grain shipments combine volumes from CN’s Western Canadian Grain Report and CPKC’s Canadian Grain Performance Scorecard. Weather data are from Environment and Natural Resources Canada. West min temp and West mean temp are calculated as the average temperature of cities throughout the Western Canadian Grain Supply Chain, including Thunder Bay, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary, and Kamloops (Vancouver was omitted because temperatures there are not cold enough to cause significant supply chain disruptions).