(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.

October 17, 2021: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

• System loads on wheels saw a notable surge Friday/Saturday last week rising to more than 10,700 cars on line and pushing the daily average last week above the prior week.

• System counts increased marginally yesterday pushing loads on wheels above 10,800 cars – the highest levels seen in more than 4 months.

Cars Not Moving

• System idle car counts managed to finish out last week marginally better than the prior week but still averaging more than 2,000 cars per day for the 2nd straight week.

• System counts have however taken a turn for the worse in the last 72 hours more than doubling to nearly 3,500 cars for CN and CP combined yesterday.

Port Unloads

• West coast unloads finished the week on a down note averaging less than 450 cars per day Thursday to Saturday, pushing unloads for the week down 30% from the prior two weeks.

• Thunder Bay averaged 333 unloads per day, marginally lower than the prior week but above 300 cars per day for the second straight week and only the second time in the last 8 weeks.

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.