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Supply Chain Resiliency Watch – April 6, 2020 APR 6 2020 | Producers | Blog Post

(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 6, 2020: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

· Traffic levels declined marginally overnight, reflecting higher volumes on CN and lower volumes on CP.

· CP traffic levels, at less than 4,500 cars, fell to their lowest level in two weeks while CN volumes rose above 7,200 cars — the highest level seen in the last two weeks.

·  The decline in system traffic volumes reflects a faster rate of cars exiting the system, either through unload or interchange as compared to new traffic being released by shippers. In this instance, the change is significantly influenced by the high level of unloads seen yesterday, particularly for CP.

Loads Not Moving.

· Loads sitting idle for more than 48 hours increased for both railways overnight, rising above 2,600 cars — the highest level seen in a month.

· The increase overnight reflects higher counts for both railways in the Vancouver corridor. Additionally, CN saw counts rise in the eastern Canadian corridor, while CP counts rose in the Thunder Bay Corridor.

Port Performance

· West coast port unloads were above 1,000 cars yesterday for the third time in the last seven days, despite yesterday being Sunday when unloads are historically low.

· Vessel line ups ticked down slightly for the second straight day, with counts declining at Prince Rupert (-1). Total west coast vessel counts are now at 30.

· Four vessels are now scheduled to arrive at Prince Rupert, and 25 are scheduled to arrive at Vancouver over the next two weeks.

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