(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.

September 27, 2021: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

• Loads on wheels ticked up yesterday returning above 9,300 cars on line.  Early in week 9 system volumes are tracking marginally behind last week’s start.

• The increase yesterday is driven by higher volumes for CN effectively reversing the decline seen the prior day.

Cars Not Moving

• System idle car counts ticked up slightly yesterday and are now nearing 1,300 cars.

• Early in week 9 idle car counts are tracking 14% higher than at the beginning of last week although as we have seen, this number is volatile day to day.

Port Unloads

• West coast unloads (831) declined notably from the very strong performance the prior day reflecting a significant decline in unloads at Vancouver.

• Thunder Bay unloads (329) more than doubled from the prior day but continue to track below last week at this juncture.

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.