(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.

August 10, 2020: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

· System traffic volumes declined last week to their lowest level in nine weeks – this is consistent with declining shipper demand in recent weeks as the grain year turns over.

· System volumes increased marginally yesterday, reflecting higher volumes on CN and lower volumes on CP.

· Shipper demand for railcar capacity has declined 20% in week 2 (this week) with total shipper orders for CN and CP combined falling below 6,600 cars – the lowest level seen since the beginning of the last crop year (August 2019).

Loads Not Moving

· The count of idle cars improved slightly yesterday reflecting improvements on CP while CN counts continued to tick upwards.

Port Performance

· West coast port unloads (1,001) returned above the 1,000 car threshold for only the fourth time in the last two weeks.

· West coast vessel counts continue to hover around 30-35 vessels per day, a consistent range over the last few months.

· Vessel counts were unchanged overnight reflecting a decline at Vancouver (-1) and an increase at Prince Rupert (+1) – now at 28.

· Three vessels are now scheduled to arrive at Prince Rupert and 17 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.