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Supply Chain Resiliency Watch – June 16, 2020 JUN 16 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.

June 16, 2020: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

· Traffic levels declined overnight reflecting lower volumes on CP, offset by slightly higher volumes on CN.

· Daily system volumes finished last week 7% higher than the prior week – a trend that continues through the initial part of this week (+2%).

Loads Not Moving

· Loads sitting idle for more than 48 hours declined slightly overnight but remain above the 3,000 car threshold for the third consecutive day.

· The net decline overnight reflects higher counts on CN – which have now increased for four straight days – and lower counts on CP.

· Counts of idle cars have risen steadily over the last five weeks reaching the highest levels seen since mid April.

Port Performance

·  West coast port unloads (894) fell below the 1,000 car mark for the first time in four days, reflecting below average unloads at both Vancouver and Prince Rupert.

·  West coast vessel counts continue to hover around 30-35 vessels per day, a consistent trend in recent weeks.

· Vessel counts increased overnight (+4) reflecting no change at Prince Rupert and an increase at Vancouver (+4) – now at 37.

· Four vessels are now scheduled to arrive at Prince Rupert and 22 vessels currently scheduled for arrival 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.