(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.

August 16, 2021: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

• System loads on wheels changed little yesterday remaining near 3,700 cars on line.  Two days into Week 3 system volumes continue to lag last week’s pace by some 20%.

• While there was little net change yesterday, CN saw volumes decline while CP volumes increased.

Cars Not Moving

• Average daily system idle car counts saw the biggest one day improvement in three weeks falling by 26% (-350 cars) yesterday.

• The improvement was seen across the board and at slightly more than 1,000 cars are at their lowest level in nearly two months.

Port Unloads

• West coast unloads (473) bounced back somewhat yesterday with the best unload day reported at Vancouver in nearly a week.

• Thunder Bay unloads (107) while improving from the low unload counts reported on the weekend remain well below average.

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.