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CP hits new grain transport high for January despite challenges

Canadian Pacific (CP) moved 2.29 million metric tonnes (MMT) of Canadian grain and grain products in January 2023, setting a new record for the month. CP has moved more than 15 MMT of Canadian grain and grain products thus far in the 2022-2023 crop year, exceeding the amount shipped by this time in the 2021-2022 crop year by more than 45 per cent.

“CP, our customers and other supply chain participants were able to ship nearly double the volume of grain and grain products compared to January 2022, despite slowed grain vessel loading because of rain in Vancouver, holiday closures and periods of extreme winter operating conditions,” said Joan Hardy, CP vice-president of sales and marketing, grain and fertilizers.

CP has called on the government and industry to improve the ability to load grain vessels in the rain at West Coast terminals. This issue in Vancouver is causing significant capacity constraints for Canada’s export of grain and agricultural products. Persistent rain delays in Vancouver have disrupted the efficient cycling of rail cars from the Port of Vancouver back to the in-country grain elevators on the Prairies, where they are re-loaded with grain and transported back to the West Coast. These delays unavoidably reduce the grain supply chain’s velocity and export capacity.

Effective crop year and winter planning helps prepare CP to serve the needs of its customers, and by extension, the broader economy. CP has outlined its grain service outlook and its winter contingency measures in plans available on cpr.ca.