Freight
The strong recovery of Canada and the world’s economies led to high demand for all modes of transportation in 2021. However, the performance of the system was impacted by various disruptions:
- global supply chain disruptions (Suez Canal blocked in March, rising global container freight rates, shortage of microchips in the automotive industry)
- operational challenges (5-day strike at the Port of Montréal in April)
- extreme climate events (July wildfires and November flooding in British Columbia)
- renewed national and global public health restrictions (Omicron and Delta variants)
- harsh winter conditions
As a result, in December 2021, freight volumes for rail and marine transportation were still below pre-pandemic levels.
- Figure 1: Freight flow by mode chart
Freight flows by mode, monthly index
Image description: Freight flows by mode, monthly index
The line chart shows the Freight flows indicators by mode, for 2021. Freight flows indicators include the Port Container Throughput, Rail Shipments, Truck Border Crossings and Air Cargo Volume.
| Year | Port Container Throughput | Rail Shipments | Truck Border Crossings | Air Cargo Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2019 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 |
| Feb | 82.79 | 83.92 | 94.65 | 90.50 |
| Mar | 95.14 | 101.98 | 108.51 | 109.67 |
| Apr | 99.59 | 105.89 | 104.97 | 99.75 |
| May | 101.33 | 105.40 | 113.13 | 105.68 |
| Jun | 98.40 | 101.63 | 106.00 | 110.10 |
| Jul | 102.90 | 104.08 | 103.89 | 111.67 |
| Aug | 107.87 | 107.09 | 109.00 | 108.49 |
| Sep | 100.49 | 101.65 | 102.86 | 111.63 |
| Oct | 98.02 | 105.03 | 109.70 | 114.28 |
| Nov | 94.82 | 94.24 | 105.62 | 107.74 |
| Dec | 94.58 | 99.30 | 95.54 | 118.24 |
| Jan 2020 | 88.86 | 98.46 | 98.42 | 99.97 |
| Feb | 83.81 | 84.27 | 96.63 | 93.57 |
| Mar | 82.95 | 98.44 | 99.98 | 96.78 |
| Apr | 94.95 | 93.75 | 72.36 | 63.37 |
| May | 87.38 | 90.93 | 78.35 | 74.22 |
| Jun | 88.53 | 90.77 | 96.81 | 86.72 |
| Jul | 97.14 | 95.61 | 100.15 | 91.76 |
| Aug | 96.75 | 97.49 | 101.41 | 86.76 |
| Sep | 99.67 | 103.92 | 104.85 | 92.32 |
| Oct | 116.16 | 111.07 | 108.85 | 96.34 |
| Nov | 103.62 | 105.49 | 98.99 | 96.69 |
| Dec | 104.73 | 103.94 | 98.68 | 105.93 |
| Jan 2021 | 103.24 | 103.03 | 96.75 | 88.04 |
| Feb | 87.88 | 87.96 | 93.45 | 78.74 |
| Mar | 108.28 | 109.30 | 113.22 | 94.28 |
| Apr | 99.17 | 102.56 | 103.72 | 86.39 |
| May | 116.02 | 104.53 | 101.75 | 86.46 |
| Jun | 98.51 | 101.01 | 108.85 | 92.50 |
| Jul | 99.57 | 90.93 | 102.85 | 90.69 |
| Aug | 105.87 | 98.20 | 104.76 | 93.96 |
| Sep | 98.19 | 97.82 | 104.07 | 97.45 |
| Oct | 109.18 | 100.83 | 107.59 | 102.97 |
| Nov | 87.75 | 86.76 | 104.15 | 111.30 |
| Dec | 94.67 | 89.59 | 100.51 | 117.27 |
Sources: Statistics Canada, Transport Canada, Port authorities
Air transportation
In 2021, airports in Canada handled 1.3 million tonnes of cargo from domestic and foreign carriers, a 5.1% increase from 2020, however, the yearly average remains below 2019 levels (-11.5%). As of October 2021, monthly air cargo volumes have recovered to pre-pandemic levels as shown in Figure 1.
The 3 busiest airports for air cargo were Toronto Pearson International Airport (319.8 thousand tonnes in 2021, 2.1% more than in 2020), the Vancouver International Airport (249.7 thousand tonnes in 2021, 5.2% more than in 2020) and the Hamilton International Airport (149.6 thousand tonnes in 2021, 21.2% more than in 2020).
Marine transportation
Demand for consumer goods was strong through 2021. This resulted in increased container throughput at Canadian ports up 5.6% compared to 2020, which was also above pre pandemic levels (+2.8% compared to 2019). Movement of empty containers increased as global shortage of containers placed greater pressure for rapid return of empty containers to consumer goods producers.
The import surge that started in late 2020 continued to affect marine and port transit time on the West Coast. After remaining flat in 2020, container throughput at the Port of Vancouver was up +7.1% in 2021. The Port of Prince Rupert saw a -7.3% drop in its container throughput in 2021, due to supply chain disruptions, industry specific issues and a competitive West Coast market that led ocean carriers to skip Prince Rupert on some voyages.
Despite a labour dispute at the Port of Montréal in April 2021, the port’s container throughput grew +7.5% in 2021 compared to 2020. Available capacity and only a few of disruptions in Eastern Canada led the port of Halifax’s container throughput to increase +18.0% compared to 2020.
Dry bulk was down -2.5% in 2021 compared to 2020 at Canadian Port Authorities, mainly due to the lower Canadian grain production for the 2021-2022 crop year, while liquid bulk throughput grew by +1.6%.
Rail transportation
In 2021, rail traffic remained slightly below 2020 levels (-0.1%) and below pre pandemic levels (-3.1% compared to 2019) despite strong growth in international merchandise trade. Bulk commodities slightly grew in 2021 compared to 2020 (+0.9%) while containerized goods decreased by 2.2%. The decreased in movement of containerized goods was driven by the significant outages in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia in 2021. Grain carloads were down 14% year-over-year due to a smaller crop-year, which freed up locomotives and crew to move other products. Indeed, bulk shipments excluding grain were up 4% compared to 2020.
In Western Canada, wildfires and floods had a major impact on rail infrastructure over the summer and the fall, but the system was able to recover. Impacts were felt across the network, specifically for bulk exports (coal, grain, potash) and container imports. The B.C. wildfires also led to a Ministerial Order on rail safety.
This Order called for speed reductions and increased patrols in extreme fire warning zones to keep the rail network safe. Implementing planned tier restrictions in late 2021 limited the system’s ability to recover from the B.C. floods. Due to these disruptions, rail shipments to and from Western Canada declined in 2021 (by 3.1%). On the other hand, central and Eastern Canada saw large increases in their rail shipments of 4.8% and 18.7%, respectfully.
Road transportation
In 2021, truck border crossings grew by 7.5% compared to 2020 but remained overall slightly below pre pandemic levels in 2021 (-1.0% compared to 2019). As shown in Figure 1, truck border crossings were consistently above pre pandemic levels since March 2021. Trade by trucks to and from the U.S. is concentrated in central Canada. Truck border crossings grew by 7.1% in Central Canada and by 8.7% in Western Canada in 2021 compared to 2020. Border crossings stayed fluid in August 2021 despite the border reopening to travelers. At most border crossings wait times stayed slightly below the 3-year average in 2021.
Road traffic congestion remained slightly below 2019 levels in many major urban areas. Indeed, through 2021 congestion will stay consistently close to pre-pandemic levels in Vancouver, Toronto, Montréal, Calgary and Halifax.