The Canadian National Railway line through Jasper, Alta,. is open, but trains are moving slowly due to the wildfire that destroyed a significant part of the community this week. The implications for grain movement are unknown, but unloads are already down at the port of Vancouver.
Tag Archives grain movement

Jasper fires force trains to go slow
CN has resumed service but at a reduced speed through the area

St. Lawrence Seaway grain movement up five per cent in 2023
Grain movement through the St. Lawrence Seaway was up by five per cent in 2023 compared to the previous year, with Canadian wheat accounting for well over half of all the grain moved, according to a joint report from the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLMC) and the United States Great Lakes St. Lawrence Development Corporation (GLS) released May 27.

Strike’s impact on grain movement yet to come
Port workers union, employers reached a tentative agreement Monday morning but backlog likely to linger
MarketsFarm, Reuters – Despite grain movement at Canada’s West Coast ports not being really affected by the British Columbia port workers strike in July, there’s a good chance for issues to arise in the coming months, according to Mark Hemmes, president of Quorum Corp. “The volume of grain that moved in the last three weeks […] Read more

Record-level grain handles continue for CN, CP
MarketsFarm — Canada’s two largest railways both reported new highs in grain movement for March and for their first fiscal quarters. Canadian National Railway (CN) announced Monday it had moved 2.95 million tonnes of grain last month, beating the previous March record of 2.74 million transported last year. It was also the 13th straight month […] Read more

Grain shortage, cold snap cause delays at West Coast ports
'...the vessels continue to arrive'
MarketsFarm — Grain movement in Western Canada remains faced with significant difficulties, according to Mark Hemmes, president of Quorum Corp., which monitors rail traffic and vessel movements in Canada. February’s cold snap resulted in grain movement across the region falling below its three-year average. The most pressing issue has been a shortage of grain to […] Read more

Railways say they’re ready for large shipping season
CNS Canada — Canadian Pacific Railway managed to slightly increase its grain shipping volumes last year, despite the extreme cold. CP moved 25.8 million tonnes of western Canadian grain, grain products, soybeans and non-regulated principal field crops during the 2017-18 crop year. That’s a one per cent increase from the previous crop year and one […] Read more

Tepid rail service cripples farmer deliveries on Prairies
CNS Canada — Prairie farmers are struggling to generate cash flow for their operations due to the lack of rail cars that are available to pick up their grain. “Spring is coming up, farmers need cash flow and we don’t get cash flow if your grain is sitting in a bin waiting for a train […] Read more

Prairie grain movement not perfect, but not in crisis
CNS Canada — Canadian grain exports are moving out of the country at a similar pace as they were a year ago, but there are still some challenges along the logistical chain. “Right now we’re looking at the second largest supply of grain that we’ve ever had to move,” said Mark Hemmes, president of Quorum […] Read more

New record set for Prairie grain throughput in 2016-17
Western Canada’s grain industry moved a record volume of grain in the 2016-17 crop year that ended July 31 and is gearing up to ship this year’s crop, expected to be the smallest in four years. Export terminals at Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Thunder Bay put through 35.945 million tonnes of grain last crop year, […] Read more

CP to chart weekly grain handling performance online
Canadian Pacific Railway plans to launch a new weekly “supply chain scorecard” next week, to chart its own performance handling Prairie grain. The Calgary company announced the new program Friday for an online launch Wednesday (Oct. 19), noting the scorecard “will include, when necessary, detailed information on any internal or external factors affecting grain movement” as […] Read more