(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.

May 1, 2022: Report Synopsis

Loads on Wheels

Consistent with the pattern seen through much of last week average daily system loads on wheels declined 10% last week averaging less than 5,000 cars on line per day.

Also consistent with the pattern throughout the week the overall decline was led by CN which saw volumes fall off 20% while CP volumes nudged up slightly.

Cars Not Moving

Despite a slight surge heading into the weekend last week system idle car counts saw an 18% week over week improvement last week averaging less than 1,000 cars per day for the first time since November.

The week over week improvement was driven by improved counts for CP while CN counts rose slightly from the prior week.

Port Unloads

West coast unloads, while remaining low in absolute terms, improved from the prior week averaging 436 cars per day driven by higher unloads at Vancouver.

Thunder Bay unloads at 174 cars per day last week declined for the 3rd straight 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.