Rail freight traffic — all countries

Rail freight traffic — North America

Rail freight traffic in North America in 2021 — 1,334,785 M t-km. Since 1995, the indicator has fallen by 30%.

2021 1.33M M t-km +4.85% vs 2020
World rank
Period maximum 1.91M M t-km1995
Period minimum 1.11M M t-km1996

Trend over time

1995–2021 · million tonne-kilometers

Rail freight traffic — North America, 1995–20211M1.2M1.4M1.6M1.8M2M19951998200120042007201020132016201920211995: 1,906,206 M t-km1996: 1,112,624 M t-km1997: 1,119,395 M t-km1998: 1,133,086 M t-km1999: 1,179,226 M t-km2000: 1,212,017 M t-km2001: 1,237,398 M t-km2002: 1,244,412 M t-km2003: 1,282,704 M t-km2004: 1,377,540 M t-km2005: 1,407,303 M t-km2006: 1,464,175 M t-km2007: 1,466,431 M t-km2008: 1,464,728 M t-km2009: 1,265,852 M t-km2010: 1,400,687 M t-km2011: 1,436,205 M t-km2012: 1,434,299 M t-km2013: 1,463,810 M t-km2014: 1,558,403 M t-km2015: 1,480,119 M t-km2016: 1,355,750 M t-km2017: 1,432,638 M t-km2018: 1,485,382 M t-km2019: 1,401,599 M t-km2020: 1,273,058 M t-km2021: 1,334,785 M t-km
Change over the period: −571,421 (−29.98%) Average annual rate: -1.36 %
Rail freight traffic — North America, by year North America All countries CSV XLSX
Year M t-km Change Change, %
2021 1.33M +61,727 +4.85%
2020 1.27M −128,541 −9.17%
2019 1.4M −83,783 −5.64%
2018 1.49M +52,744 +3.68%
2017 1.43M +76,888 +5.67%
2016 1.36M −124,370 −8.4%
2015 1.48M −78,284 −5.02%
2014 1.56M +94,593 +6.46%
2013 1.46M +29,512 +2.06%
2012 1.43M −1,906 −0.13%
2011 1.44M +35,518 +2.54%
2010 1.4M +134,835 +10.65%
2009 1.27M −198,876 −13.58%
2008 1.46M −1,704 −0.12%
2007 1.47M +2,256 +0.15%
2006 1.46M +56,872 +4.04%
2005 1.41M +29,763 +2.16%
2004 1.38M +94,837 +7.39%
2003 1.28M +38,292 +3.08%
2002 1.24M +7,015 +0.57%
2001 1.24M +25,381 +2.09%
2000 1.21M +32,791 +2.78%
1999 1.18M +46,140 +4.07%
1998 1.13M +13,692 +1.22%
1997 1.12M +6,771 +0.61%
1996 1.11M −793,583 −41.63%
1995 1.91M

About the indicator

Rail freight traffic in millions of tonne-kilometers: the mass of the freight carried multiplied by the distance of the haul. The highest values belong to countries with a long reach and large-scale extraction of raw materials, where rail remains the cheapest way to move bulk cargo over long distances.

Source: World Development Indicators (World Bank), license CC BY 4.0.