(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 26, 2021: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

• System loads on wheels increased slightly yesterday returning above 5,100 cars on line – now above 5,000 cars per day on average through the first 5 days this week.

• Higher volumes this week continue to reflect higher loads on wheels for each of CN and CP with the increase seen on CP this week more significant than CN.

Cars Not Moving

• Idle car counts changed little from the prior day with little movement in either direction across the board.

• Now in the back half of week 4 average daily idle car counts are tracking at less than 1,000 cars per day – some 8% lower than last week.

Port Unloads

• West coast unloads (330) were lower than might have been expected given the number of cars available for unloading yesterday morning (800).

• Thunder Bay unloads (122) were up slightly but continue to come in below expectations.

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.