In January 2020 Statistics Canada was pleased to announce the availability of the new Freight Rail Services Price Index (FRSPI). This index is a series that provides monthly and quarterly estimates of price changes for the mainline freight rail industry in Canada.
The FRSPI measures the price changes for delivering a carload of a certain commodity and of a specific weight, on a specific distance (specific origin and destination) and under certain terms of shipment. For example, the cost of transporting forest products by rail in Canada increased by 2.3 % from January 2019 to January 2020.
Data are available at Canada level, by total and certain commodity groups.
In addition to this new price index, two other price indexes related to transportation are currently available: For-Hire Motor Carrier Freight Services and Couriers and Messengers Services.