This article has been reprinted from the USDA Aug. 8 Grain Transportation Report.
Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) recently announced they hauled record amounts of Canadian grain and grain products in the 2018/19 crop year, which ended July 31.
CN stated it shipped more than 27 million metric tons (mmt) of Canadian grain, a 4 percent increase from last year. In 2018/19, CP shipped almost 27 mmt of Canadian grain and grain products, 3 percent higher than the prior year.
According to the Surface Transportation Board’s rail performance data, CP and CN also originated about 4 percent fewer grain carloads in the U.S. during the August 2018 through July 2019 timeframe.
Grain carloads are also down for U.S. railroads. Year-to-date, U.S. Class I railroads have originated 5 percent fewer grain carloads compared to last year.