(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 29, 2021: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

• Consistent with the trend seen throughout last week, system loads on wheels averaged more than 5,200 cars per day last week – nearly 1,000 cars per day more than the prior week.

• Loads on wheels remained above 5,400 cars yesterday although having declined somewhat from the peak of nearly 6,000 cars on line last Friday.

Cars Not Moving

• Idle car counts improved for the 8th straight week last week averaging less than 1,000 cars per day for the first time in months.

•  Counts returned above the 1,000 car threshold yesterday having now increased for 3 straight days – principally on CN.

Port Unloads

• West coast unloads saw their best week in the last three weeks averaging nearly 450 cars per day on the strength of a strong finish with 1,400 unloads reported on Friday/Saturday.

• Thunder Bay unloads also some week over week improvement but averaged fewer than 130 cars per day last week.

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.