OTTAWA, ON – A leading independent global transportation consulting firm, CPCS, says Canada’s rail freight rates are the lowest of major market-based economies in the world it surveyed, including the United States. The findings, contained in a new CPCS report entitled International Comparison of Rail Freight Rates, concluded that Canada’s average rail freight rate is 11% lower than that of the U.S. Using publicly available data, the study, which surveyed 11 countries representing two-thirds of global GDP, finds Canadian rates are significantly lower than those of market-based economies in Europe and Asia – all of them leading trading nations like Canada. “We’ve known for a long time that Canada’s freight railways are the safest in North America. They are also the most cost effective on the continent and have among the lowest rates in the world,” says Marc Brazeau, President and CEO of the Railways Association of Canada (RAC).