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Producer cars stats now available weekly via Canadian Grain Commission

The Canadian Grain Commission has launched a weekly statistical report on the allocation of producer cars. The publication of these statistics enhances the transparency of commercial grain handlings and supports the marketing of Canadian grain. The report is available on both the Canadian Grain Commission's web site and the Government of Canada's Open Data site and will be updated weekly.

Each week's publication reflects the cumulative number of producer cars allocated from the start of the crop year to the end of the shipping week. Reports within the publication break down the allocation numbers by the type of grain shipped, province of origin, and the grain's destination.

By making data such as this available publicly, the Canadian Grain Commission is supporting the Government of Canada's commitment to making data open and available to all Canadians.

Previously, statistics about producer railway cars were only available via email. They were distributed for free, but only went to a small number of stakeholders. Not all stakeholders were aware they could receive these reports, which didn't align with the Government of Canada's policy on open data.

The Canadian Grain Commission will now be publishing producer railway car statistics online to align with the Government of Canada's open data policy and to make these statistics available to all stakeholders.

Because the Canadian Grain Commission is publishing its producer railway car statistics online in more accessible formats, users will be able to compile the data to meet their specific needs.

Rather than using the categories wheat, durum, oats, barley, rye, flaxseed, canola and other to display grain movement by grain type, the new online content doesn't use an "other" category. Instead, statistics are displayed by grain type, even if the number of railway cars shipping that grain type is relatively low.

Also, the destination category now includes producer railway cars going into the licensed Canadian system (terminal and process elevators by region); the unlicensed Canadian system (by western or eastern region; processors; container facilities; seed or feed facilities); United States; and Mexico.

The online statistical reports include:

• Glossary
• Summary – cumulative and weekly totals by grain type and cumulative totals by country and grain
• Cumulative by province and by grain
• Cumulative by destination

History of producer railway car statistics
Producer railway car statistics have been published since the 1910 to 1911 crop year. Each year, producer railway car statistics (referred to back then as platform loadings) appeared in the Report of the Department of Trade and Commerce Part V Statistics.

In the 1942 to 1943 crop year, the Canadian Grain Commission began publishing weekly producer railway car statistics as part of the Board of Grain Commissioners for Canada Visible Supply of Canadian Grain report. Eventually, this report became Grain Statistics Weekly which is published weekly online.

The Canadian Grain Commission prepares 3 railway car statistical reports: weekly, monthly and annual. The weekly report is one page and includes cumulative data by type of grain and a weekly summary of the number of railway cars by port. The monthly report and the annual report are made up of 5 tables of producer railway car shipments as follows: by grain; by province and grain; by train run; by train run and grain; and by destination.

November 15, 2017  By Canadian Grain Commission