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Daily Grain Network Status – March 1, 2022 MAR 2 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.

March 1, 2022: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

Little change in system loads on wheels yesterday remaining near 6,000 cars and currently tracking 11% ahead of last week at this juncture.

Little movement for either railway yesterday although the increase seen thus far in week 31 is being driven by a 30% jump in CP volumes while CN volumes are largely flat.

Cars Not Moving

Significant improvement in system idle car counts yesterday with counts declining 26% (-450 cars) and while still averaging more than 1,600 cars per day are trending toward week over week improvement.

The improvement yesterday reflects lower counts for each of CN and CP with CN accounting for about two-thirds of the overall improvement.

Port Unloads

West coast unloads (575) improved slightly from the prior day reflecting improved unloads at Vancouver offset in part by lower unloads at Prince Rupert.

Approaching the mid point of week 31 Vancouver unloads are tracking at last week’s levels while Prince Rupert is well ahead of the low unloads seen last week.

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.