Market Snapshot: Canada's crude-by-rail exports hit 8-year low, while total crude exports reach record high

Release date: 2025-03-05

Total exports of Canadian crude oil reached record highs in 2024^Footnote 1. Despite this, Canadian crude oil volumes exported by rail declined by about 10% compared to 2023—the lowest level since 2016, averaging 88.7 thousand barrels per day (Mb/d) in 2024. Crude oil is increasingly being exported by pipeline or marine^Footnote 2 instead of rail, after additional pipeline capacity was brought online in recent years^Footnote 3.

Figure 1: Canadian crude by rail export volumes 2019-2024 and Canadian crude oil price differentials (WTI – WCS)

In 2019, crude exports by rail reached an annual historical high because pipelines exiting western Canada were full. This trend continued into early 2020, with February 2020 hitting a record monthly high of 412 Mb/d. Since then, annual average volumes exported by rail have been decreasing. Initially brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the crude by rail decline^Footnote 4 continued as additional export pipeline capacity became available with the completion of Enbridge Mainline’s Line 3 Replacement program in October 2021, which added 370 Mb/d of capacity^Footnote 5 and the completion of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project in May 2024, which added an additional 590 Mb/d of capacity.

It generally costs less per barrel to ship by pipeline than by rail. As noted, additional pipeline capacity has become available in recent years contributing to an average WTI-WCS discount of $13.84 USD/bbl in 2024 (versus $17.85 in 2023).^Footnote 6 When the WCS-WTI differential narrows, some crude-by-rail becomes an uneconomic export option.^Footnote 7

While the use of rail has declined recently, it is still an integral part of the oil transportation system. This is because rail serves regions without pipelines and can be relied upon when pipelines are running at capacity.

Date modified:

2025-03-05