(Daily updates will be available on the Alberta Pulse Growers website.)

Pulse Canada and the CSCA are partners of the Ag Transport Coalition (ATC)*, which tracks performance of the Canadian railway network for the movement of grain.

A daily report has been created to provide stakeholders with insight on the performance of the Canadian rail system as it attempts to remain resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues recovering from a series of physical network disruptions in the months of January and February 2020.

March 30, 2020: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

· Traffic levels increased for the third consecutive day on a system basis yesterday, reflecting higher volumes on both CN and CP.

· CP traffic levels remain above the 5,000 car threshold for the 4th consecutive day.

· For both railways, the increase is attributable to higher volumes in the Thunder Bay corridor which increased 30% (+500 cars) overnight, with shipments to Port now accelerating in anticipation of the opening of the Seaway this week.

Loads Not Moving

· Loads sitting idle for more than 48 hours rose sharply overnight for both CN and CP, and have risen above 2,500 cars – now at their highest level in the last two weeks.

· The increase for both railways is a direct reflection of the Vancouver corridor, where the count of idle cars nearly doubled overnight to more than 2,000 cars reflecting significant increases on both railways.

· The majority of cars are sitting at origin, which may reflect a strategy by the railways to meter traffic to the port and avoid congestion in their networks.

Port Performance

· West coast port unloads declined yesterday – likely more a reflection of Sunday unloading than anything else.

· Vessel line ups have stagnated at a total of 38 on the west coast for the 4th consecutive day.

· Scheduled arrivals are increasing for both ports, with three vessels scheduled to arrive at Prince Rupert this week, and 16 vessels currently scheduled for arrival at Vancouver over the next two weeks – the latter seemingly in the face of declining demand in the Vancouver corridor this week.

All daily resiliency reports are available on the Pulse Canada website.

*The Ag Transportation Coalition is comprised of the Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA), Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC), Pulse Canada, Manitoba Pulse Growers Association (MPGA), Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, Inland Terminal Association of Canada (ITAC) and the Canadian Special Crops Association (CSCA).

For more information, go to www.agtransportcoalition.com