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Daily Grain Network Status – March 22, 2022 MAR 23 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 22, 2022: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

System loads on wheels increased for the first time in a week yesterday reflecting higher volumes for CN.

CP volumes declined slightly yesterday and remain below 2,500 cars on line – we expect this to increase in the coming days as CP re-starts operations post labour disruption.

Cars Not Moving

System idle car counts improved yesterday returning below 2,900 cars after climbing above 3,100 cars a day ago fuelled largely by increasing counts for CP due to the labour disruption.

While the improvement yesterday reflects lower counts across the board other than CP – which increased slightly – we expect to see CP counts decline in the next 48 hours.

Port Unloads

West coast unloads (222) declined marginally again yesterday reflecting improved unloads at Vancouver offset by lower unloads at Prince Rupert as expected.

Thunder Bay unloads (52) remain low despite having 700+ cars on site yesterday – to some extent a function of CP’s labour disruption as most cars were on CP tracks.

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.