(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.

April 1, 2020: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

· Traffic levels declined slightly for the second consecutive day reflecting lower volumes on CN and higher volumes on CP.

· CP traffic levels remain above the 5,000 car threshold for the 6th consecutive day and CN volumes fell below the 7,200-car threshold for the first time this week.

· For both railways, the overnight change reflects puts and takes across multiple corridors but with no material changes in any single corridor.

Loads Not Moving

· Loads sitting idle for more than 48 hours declined for the second consecutive day, reflecting a decline for CN and a slight increase for CP – total counts have returned below the 2,000 car mark.

· The overnight change reflects marginal improvement or deterioration across multiple corridors, but with no substantive changes in any single corridor.

· The majority of idle cars continue to sit 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 fell below the 1,000-car threshold yesterday, and are now averaging some 10% less than last week.

· Vessel line ups ticked down slightly, with Vancouver counts declining (-1) and total west coast vessel counts now at 39.

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