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Daily Grain Network Status – August 31, 2021 SEP 1 2021 | Producers | Blog Post

(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 31, 2021: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

• After declining for three consecutive days loads on wheels rose yesterday rising above 5,600 cars on line.  Loads on wheels now above 5,000 cars for 7 of the last 8 days.

• The increase seen yesterday reflects higher volumes for each of CN and CP with both railways now tracking ahead of last week’s pace.

Cars Not Moving

• Idle car counts declined slightly again yesterday falling below 900 cars on a system basis.  Minor declines were seen for both CN and CP yesterday.

• While still early in week 5, idle car counts are currently tracking toward their 9th straight week of improvement at less than 1,000 cars per day on average this week.

Port Unloads

• West coast unloads (424) declined from the prior day falling somewhat short of expectations given that there were 800 cars in the terminal yesterday morning.

• Thunder Bay unloads, despite high terminal volumes, once again came in below expectations at fewer than 225 unloads 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.