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Daily Grain Network Status – Nov. 9, 2020 NOV 10 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.

November 9, 2020: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

· Loads on wheels declined yesterday for the second consecutive day, falling below 11,300 cars – effectively returning to levels seen four days ago after the brief spike in traffic levels seen this past weekend.

· While early in the week, this decline is consistent with a pattern seen in recent weeks where loads on wheels see a short term spike, often on the weekend, followed by declining volumes throughout the remainder of the week.  It is early in the week and the downward trend may yet change in the coming days – two days in system volumes are tracking 8% (-1,000 cars) lower than last week at 11,500 cars per day.

Cars Not Moving

· The system count of loads not moving increased for the fourth straight day yesterday rising to near 3,000 cars reflecting a significant increase on CN with a smaller increase on CP.

Port Unloads

· West coast unloads (1,067) declined yesterday reflecting lower unloads at Vancouver and improved unloads at Prince Rupert.  Thunder Bay unloads remain robust at 376 cars.

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