The railway transported 2.74 MMT of grain in November
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
One of Canada’s national railways is celebrating a record-setting November.
That month, Canadian Pacific (CP) moved 2.74 million metric tonnes (MMT) of grain and grain products – the highest volume of any month in the railway’s 138-year history.
CP set its previous record, 2.66 MMT, in October 2019.
November also saw the railway set a record for the number of unloaded cars at the Port of Thunder Bay.
CP unloaded 2,216 cars during the week of Nov. 18 to 24, surpassing the previous record of 2,144 cars during the same week last fall.
"CP achieved great things last month for the Canadian grain supply chain in close collaboration with our trusted supply chain enablers," Joan Hardy, CP's vice-president of sales and marketing, grain and fertilizers, said in a Dec. 2 statement. "The CP team will keep open the lines of communication with shippers and government leaders as we push to become even more effective and efficient to meet the growing needs of Canada's agricultural sector."
Producers are pleased to see the railway step up its game.
“I’m definitely appreciative of that,” Roger Chevraux, a cash crop producer from Killam, Alta., told Farms.com.
Killam is home to Viterra and Great Northern Grain elevators, both on CP’s rail line.
As a producer who farms near a CP line, Chevraux didn’t have to worry about the recent CN strike. But the work stoppage at CN may have affected operations at CP, he said.
“I know that (the strike) backed up things a lot,” he said. “It didn’t impact me but I would imagine some farmers switched railways to ensure their grain could be dried and transported in a timely manner.”
In addition to the grain movement, CP held an Alberta Agriculture Round Table with company reps and the provincial agriculture and transportation ministers to discuss growing the grain supply chain.
Farms.com has reached out to CP for comment.