(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.

February 15, 2021: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

· Loads on wheels finished last week consistent with the trend seen all week with volumes declining 11% from the prior week and averaging less than 10,400 cars per day.

· After falling below 10,000 cars on line mid week, volumes began to rise slightly returning to their current level of 10,700 cars per day – marginally higher than last week.

Cars Not Moving

· The system count of idle cars rose dramatically last week to more than 4,700 cars per day on average – the highest levels seen since the post holiday period in December/January.

· After climbing to nearly 6,000 cars last Saturday counts have begun to decline falling slightly over the last 48 hours but remaining exceedingly high at more than 5,400 cars this morning.

Port Unloads

· West coast unloads at fewer than 800 cars per day last week saw their worst week in months.  Poor unloads continue this week with total west coast unloads falling short of 1,000 cars yesterday for the 8th time in the last 9 days.

For more information, go to www.agtransportcoalition.com* 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). All daily network status reports are available on the Pulse Canada website