(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 7, 2020: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

· Traffic levels increased overnight, returning above 12,500 cars reflecting lower volumes on CN and higher volumes on CP.

· CP traffic levels have once again risen above the 5,000 car threshold, while CN volumes once again fell below 7,000 cars.

· The increase in system traffic volumes reflects a faster rate of cars entering the system than are exiting the system either through unload or interchange.

Loads Not Moving

· Loads sitting idle for more than 48 hours declined for both railways overnight, but remain above the 2,000 car threshold.

· The decline overnight reflects primarily lower counts for both railways in the Vancouver corridor.

Port Performance

· West coast port unloads remained above 1,000 cars for the second consecutive day despite being slightly lower than the prior day. West coast unloads so far this week are averaging 1,069 cars, some 10% higher than last week.

· Vessel line ups ticked down slightly for the third straight day, with counts declining at Prince Rupert (-1) and Vancouver (-1) and are now at 28.

· 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