(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 20, 2020: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

·   Traffic levels were largely unchanged overnight, remaining above 13,000 cars for the second straight day

·  The strength of the system traffic volume continues to be positively influenced by traffic volumes in the Thunder Bay corridor which continue to ramp up — more than 2,800 cars today representing approximately 22% of total system volumes.

Loads Not Moving

·  Loads sitting idle for more than 48 hours rose overnight after having declined significantly the prior day and, on a system basis, have now returned above 2,400 cars.

· The overnight change reflects a 54% increase on CN (+530 cars), while CP counts rose only slightly.

Port Performance

·  West coast port unloads were strong over the weekend, remaining above the 1,000 car mark daily for six consecutive days. This reflects improved unloads at Vancouver and Prince Rupert yesterday.

·  Vessel line ups were unchanged overnight, now at 29 in total.

·  Six vessels are now scheduled to arrive at Prince Rupert and 22 are currently scheduled to arrive at Vancouver over the next two weeks.

For more information, go to www.agtransportcoalition.com

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