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Daily Grain Network Status – Oct. 18, 2020 OCT 20 2020 | Producers | Blog Post

(Regular 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 new grain network status report has been created to provide stakeholders with comprehensive insight on the performance of the Canadian rail system for the 2020-2021 grain year.  The report provides information and data on the status of the rail network as of midnight the previous day.

The railway performance data reported in these reports reflect the performance of rail shipments specifically for grain shippers participating in the Ag Transport Coalition’s railway performance measurement program – estimated to encompass approximately 90-95% of western Canadian originated grain shipments by rail.

October 18, 2020: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

Average daily loads on wheels finished out last week effectively where they had been trending all week – 11,331 cars per day or 5% lower than the prior week.


Loads on wheels increased nominally on a system basis yesterday returning above the 12,000 car threshold for the first time in a week.  Yesterday’s increase reflects a significant increase for CN offset by lower volumes on CP.


Cars Not Moving

The system count of cars not moving increased yesterday for both railways returning above 1,600 cars on a system basis.

While this is early in the week, counts are currently tracking 14% lower than the start of last week when counts had been driven up by a short term spike at the beginning of the week.

Port Unloads

West coast unloads (986) fell below 1,000 cars yesterday for the first time in more than three weeks, reflecting below average unloads at both Vancouver and Prince Rupert.

All daily network status 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