CO Rail Grain Handle Rises 1%

TORONTO - Aug 21/18 - SNS -- Canadian Pacific railway reports it moved 25.8 million metric tonnes (MT) of western Canadian grain and grain products, soybeans and other non-regulated principal field crops during the 2017-2018 crop year.

That total is up 1% over the 2016-2017 crop-year and 1% above its three-year average. In its July 31, 2018 letter to Minister of Transport, Marc Garneau, CP published a detailed plan to move this year's crop. CP is closely watching crop forecasts for the railway's service area, and is in regular communication with customers and supply chain partners to validate forecasts for the upcoming crop size.

"Our agricultural shippers have needs that are unique within our book of business, and we believe an ongoing dialogue with those companies is essential to understanding and meeting their needs," said Joan Hardy, CP's Vice President Sales and Marketing – Grain and Fertilizers. "Our plans for moving this year's crop reflect that."

CP's current estimate of the western Canadian crop size, based on Statistics Canada data, is 70.8 million MT. Including the projected ending stocks, the railway reckons available supplies of all grains and oilseeds will be up 5% from the recent five year average at 83.4 million MT.

Based on current forecasts, CP's operating team plans to consistently spot 5,500 hopper cars for Canadian grain weekly through the fall, until the closure of the Port of Thunder Bay on the St. Lawrence Seaway. When the seaway closes, CP plans to supply approximately 4,000 cars per week.

CP sizes its operating plan carefully to match supply-chain capacity, and our plan assumes the supply chain will run at or near capacity throughout the season.