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Daily Grain Network Status – January 9, 2022 JAN 10 2022 | 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.

January 9, 2022: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

A slight surge in traffic levels in the latter half of last week drove average daily system loads on wheels up to finish out the week 3% higher than the prior week averaging 7,600 cars per day.

The increase has been driven by an increase in CN volumes which jumped about 13% over three days while CP volumes were largely unchanged.

Cars Not Moving

Concurrent with the increase in traffic volumes at the tail end of last week, system idle car counts jumped notably rising 40% in four days to finish out the week.

System counts begin week 24 with a 4th consecutive day of increases, albeit small, driving counts above 4,400 cars.

Port Unloads

West coast unloads averaged less than 400 cars per day for 3rd straight week last week with lower unloads for both Vancouver and Prince Rupert.

Thunder Bay unloads declined for the 3rd straight week averaging less than 100 cars per day last week – the lowest level 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.