(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.

January 30, 2022: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

Consistent with the upward trend seen through much of the week, average daily cars on line saw a 10% increase last week averaging a little more than 6,800 cars per day.

The week over week improvement reflects higher traffic levels for both CN and CP although most notably CN which saw average daily counts increase 11%.

Cars Not Moving

Average daily idle car counts increased last week following three straight weeks of improvement averaging 2,533 cars per day – up 8% from the prior week.

This reflects marginally lower counts for CN more than offset by higher counts for CP.

Port Unloads

West coast unloads averaged 489 cars per day last week – 17% lower than the prior week reflecting lower unloads at Vancouver and slightly higher unloads at Prince Rupert.

Thunder Bay unloads fell for the 6th consecutive week averaging 40 cars per day as the grain shipping season continues to wind down.

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.