(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.

May 14, 2020: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

· Traffic levels declined for the fifth consecutive day driven by significant reduction in CP volumes offset to some extent by slightly higher volumes on CN.

· System volumes continue their steady downward trajectory led largely by lower volumes on CN.

Loads Not Moving

· Loads sitting idle for more than 48 hours declined slightly overnight reflecting higher counts on CN and lower counts on CP.

· The improvement on CP is a direct reflection of improved counts in the Vancouver corridor.

· CP appears to have improved the local switching issues somewhat at Vancouver, with the number of cars sitting idle for 2+ days awaiting spotting in the Vancouver terminal declining by nearly 50% overnight – there are still however more than 300 cars still waiting.

Port Performance

· West coast port unloads (1,097) remained above 1,000 cars with slightly higher unloads at Vancouver yesterday and 200+ unloads at Prince Rupert for the third straight day.

· West coast vessel counts continue to hover around 30-33 vessels per day, a consistent trend in recent weeks.  There was no change at Vancouver or Prince Rupert yesterday with total counts remaining at 31.

· Six vessels are now scheduled to arrive at Prince Rupert and 18 vessels currently scheduled for arrival at Vancouver over the next ten days.

 

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·