Monthly Railway Carloadings Survey

Detailed information for December 2001

This survey collects data from common carrier railways operating in Canada which are essential for the analysis of the Railway Transport Industry and the assessment of its contribution to the Canadian economy. These data provide input into the Canadian System of National Accounts for the calculation of the gross domestic product and are used by various government departments to develop policy and to monitor the industry.

Data release - February 8, 2002

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology

Description

The survey presents essential data for timely analysis of the Rail Transport Industry and its contribution to the Canadian economy.

The data are used by Statistics Canada as input to the System of National Accounts, by Transport Canada and other federal and provincial departments, by transportation companies, consulting firms, universities and foreign governments. The information is used for the analysis of transportation activity, for marketing and economic studies, as well as industry performance measures.

Statistical activity

This statistical activity is part of a set of surveys measuring various aspects of activities related to the movement of people and goods. These surveys are grouped as follows:

Transportation by air includes records related to the movement of aircraft, passengers and cargo by air for both Canadian and foreign air carriers operating in Canada as well as the financial and operating characteristics of Canadian air carriers. These data are produced by the Aviation Statistics Centre.

Transportation by rail includes records relating to rail transportation in Canada, and between the United States and Canada.

Transportation by road includes records relating to all road transport in Canada. In addition to surveying carriers and owners of registered motor vehicles, certain programs rely on aggregation of provincial and territorial administrative records.

Reference period: Month

Subjects

• Transportation
• Transportation by rail

Data sources and methodology

Target population

Common carrier railways operating in Canada and providing for-hire freight service.

Sampling

This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.

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Estimation

Trend Method

Quality evaluation

In 1999, the monthly Railway Carloadings survey was affected by the implementation of the Standard Classification of Transported Goods (SCTG). The categories of the current publication consist of an aggregation of the SCTG categories. Comparison of the new and old series of goods is not necessarily appropriate. The impact on bulk commodities such as wheat, potash and coal are negligible. However, the comparison of residual categories or of manufactured products categories is not appropriate. It is also worth noting that, starting in January 1999, the number of carriers surveyed has more than doubled from the eighteen carriers surveyed previously.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential.

If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data. Data for a specific industry or variable may be suppressed (along with that of a second industry or variable) if the number of enterprises in the population is too low.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Estimates are provided for the reference month and the previous 12 months are revised if necessary. The data are not seasonally adjusted.