Welcome to RAC’s new 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.
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Canadian Class 1 Freight Traffic
Last updated on September 16, 2025
In week 36 (August 31-September 6), Canadian Class 1 (CN and CPKC) network-wide freight traffic was flat compared to the same week in 2024. Across their North American networks, for the most part, increases in grain & fertilizers and energy, chemicals and plastics were offset by reductions in metals and minerals, forest products, automotive, and coal. Intermodal carloadings increased 3% while revenue ton-miles (RTMs) decreased by 1%.
Across the first 36 weeks of 2025, Canadian Class 1 network-wide carloads were up 2% and RTMs were up 3% compared to the same period in 2024 (+160,654 carloads and +8,667 million RTMs). Grain & fertilizers led RTM growth (+5,742 million RTMs, or +6%) while growth in carloads was led by intermodal (+179,510 carloads, or +7%). Coal volumes compare favourably as well, with carloads up 6% and RTMs up 7%. Automotive carloads were down 1% but RTMs were up 10% from longer average hauls. These gains were partially offset by traffic reductions of forest products; metals and minerals; and energy, chemicals and plastics.
* Includes potash.
The figure below shows Canadian Class 1 network-wide traffic in each week. When temperatures drop below -25 Celsius, railways are required to implement train length and speed restrictions to maintain safety, which unavoidably impact supply chain velocity and capacity. Extreme cold also impacts other parts of the supply chain. For example, terminal loading and unloading by railway customers often slows during extreme cold.
This year, in the three reporting weeks spanning February 2 to February 22, railway operations were impacted by persistent, extreme cold. Temperature data from select cities (including Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Calgary) show that temperatures dropped below -25 Celsius in 19 of 21 days in at least one of those locations, compared to just 1 of 21 days in the same period in 2024.
Notes: The dates indicate the first day of the week (e.g., “5-Jan” corresponds to the week of January 5 to 11). Canadian Class 1 data includes the network-wide operations of CN and CPKC.
Western Canadian Grain
In the 2024-2025 crop year (August 2024-July 2025), CN and CPKC moved 58.6 million metric tonnes of Canadian grain and grain products – 22% higher than the previous 3-year average.
In Week 5 (August 31-September 6) of the 2025-2026 crop year, CN and CPKC moved nearly one million metric tonnes (994 thousand) of Canadian grain and grain products.
Over the 2025–26 crop year to date, total shipments are up 3% compared to the previous 3-year average. Shipper demand remains below available capacity and supply chain targets (as outlined in CN and CPKC’s 2025-2026 Grain Plans) but is expected to grow throughout September.
Crop year-to-date grain volumes (5 weeks)
3.80 million metric tonnes | +3% 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).