(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 23, 2021: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

• System loads on wheels declined yesterday for the 2nd straight day but remain above 4,800 cars on line.  Early in week 4 daily loads on wheels continue to out pace last week by 30%.

• Yesterday’s decline is wholly attributable to CN while CP volumes increased slightly.

Cars Not Moving

• It appears the surge in idle car counts seen on Sunday was perhaps a one day anomaly with idle car counts declining notably yesterday and returning to 1,000 cars on a system basis.

• Averaging roughly 1,200 per day through the early part of this week, counts are currently tracking at the same level as last week.

Port Unloads

• West coast unloads (372) improved from the prior day and were consistent with the number of cars on site at Vancouver at the start of the day yesterday.

• Only 75 unloads were reported at Thunder Bay yesterday despite there being 600+ cars on site  yesterday.

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.