January 30, 2026 12:25 PM, EST
U.S. tariffs on commodities and the resulting uncertainty led to more than $550 million Canadian ($406 million) in forgone revenues last year at Canada’s two largest railroad operators.
President Donald Trump’s administration caused turmoil in global trade by adding sweeping import tariffs in 2025, including 50% on steel and aluminum, and 10% on lumber in addition to separate duties of 35% for Canada.
Canadian National Railway reported Jan. 30 that revenue in the fourth quarter fell by 4% in metals and minerals, and 8% in forest products, compared with the same period in 2024.
“Trade uncertainty and volatility impacted our full-year 2025 revenues by over CA$350 million,” Chief Commercial Officer Janet Drysdale said during a call with analysts. “We are open-eyed about the difficult environment in which we’re operating.”
On steel, Drysdale added that the railroad was working “hard on mitigating the trans-border headwinds with opportunities into Canada.” Forest products, meanwhile, are also hit by softening demand in home construction.
The head of Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Keith Creel, said Jan. 28 that the company “absorbed a pretty significant hit from all the uncertainty” with CA$200 million or more of revenue impact.
Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City ranked Nos. 19 and 30, respectively, on the Transport Topics Top 50 list of the largest global freight companies.
CN and CPKC, which have networks spreading into the U.S., still managed to increase their annual revenues by 2% and 4%, respectively. Both railways also decreased their operating ratio — a key gauge of railway efficiency that measures expenses as a percentage of revenues.
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