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CN, CP Rail move record amounts of grain

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Published: April 6, 2021

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Canadian National Railway announced on April 5 it had moved 2.95 million tonnes of grain last month, beating the previous March record of 2.74 million transported last year. During the first quarter, despite deliveries being affected by adverse weather, 8.2 million tonnes were moved by CN, which exceeded the previous record of seven million in 2017. | File photo

WINNIPEG, April 6 (MarketsFarm) – Canada’s two largest railways both reported all-time highs in grain movement for March and for the first quarter.

In a press release, Canadian National Railway announced on April 5 it had moved 2.95 million tonnes of grain last month, beating the previous March record of 2.74 million transported last year. It was also the 13th straight month CN broke its own monthly grain movement record.

During the first quarter, despite deliveries being affected by adverse weather, 8.2 million tonnes were moved by CN, which exceeded the previous record of seven million in 2017. The total was also more than 25 per cent higher than the three-year average of 6.5 million.

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CN has moved 22.7 million tonnes of grain during the 2020-21 crop year so far, 3.6 million more than the previous year-to-date record from the 2018-19 crop year.

“Since the beginning of 2021, Canadian grain farmers, along with all of our supply chain partners, have worked closely with CN’s railroaders to deliver record grain performance despite the pandemic and the very difficult operating conditions we faced in February,” CN senior vice president James Cairns said in the release.

Meanwhile, Canadian Pacific Railway reported it had moved 2.53 million tonnes of grain from February 28 to March 27, according to its own weekly results. In March 2020, CP Rail moved 2.21 million tonnes of grain. The railway also said grain movement is 14.5 per cent ahead of last year’s crop year-to-date. During the first quarter, 6.62 million tonnes were transported, 12.6 per cent more than the first quarter of 2020.

About the author

Adam Peleshaty

Adam Peleshaty

Reporter

Adam Peleshaty is a longtime resident of Stonewall, Man., living next door to his grandparents’ farm. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in statistics from the University of Winnipeg. Before joining Glacier FarmMedia, Adam was an award-winning community newspaper reporter in Manitoba's Interlake. He is a Winnipeg Blue Bombers season ticket holder and worked as a timekeeper in hockey, curling, basketball and football.

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