SASKATOON — Canada is dodging much of the grain shipping turmoil other exporters are facing, says Canada’s grain monitor. Total exports are about where they should be for this time of the year, said Mark Hemmes, president of Quorum Corp. “A large part of it has to do with the great weather we had before […] Read more
Tag Archives grain handling — page 6
U.S. exports slow as Panama Canal dries up
Low water levels in the Panama Canal are not disrupting Canadian grain shipments, but they are causing turmoil for exporters in the United States. Transit capacity in the canal has been reduced to 24 ships per day through the end of November, according to a news release from the Panama Canal Authority (PAC). That compares […] Read more
Seaway strike ends as tentative agreement reached
Lock workers are back at work along the canals that offer transit through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean after a Sunday evening tentative resolution to the job action, which threatened to back up St. Lawrence Seaway grain shipments. The resolution announced by Unifor, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. (SLSMC) and federal labour […] Read more
Seaway strike backs up Ontario grain
The nature of eastern Canadian grain logistics and the strike by St. Lawrence Seaway workers who operate the canals will see cascading impacts across the system if the situation isn’t resolved quickly, according to Crosby Devitt, chief executive officer of Ontario Grain Farmers. Unifor workers in both Ontario and Quebec walked off the job Sunday […] Read more
Talks to resume Friday in Seaway strike
Talks between the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. and striking members of Unifor are set to resume Friday after both sides failed to reach a negotiated settlement prior to workers walking off the job Sunday. Approximately 360 lock workers are currently striking along the Welland Canal that bypasses Niagara Falls. More than 12 million tonnes […] Read more
Transport ministry to review proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
OTTAWA (Reuters) — The federal government will review a planned merger between Bunge and Glencore-backed Viterra, the transport minister said in a statement yesterday. As part of the review, the transport ministry will launch a public interest assessment of the proposed acquisition, which must be completed by June 2, 2024, Pablo Rodriguez said in a […] Read more
Clean grain keeps markets open for all
Contaminants in grain not only lower your price on that load, it can also have a negative impact on future buyers and end users. The solution? Keep it Clean. Started by the Canola Council of Canada in 2016, the Keep it Clean program has been at the forefront of promoting hygiene in grain shipments, whether […] Read more
Railways unveil grain shipping plans
‘The railways plan on performing this year like they did last year, and last year wasn’t so bad’
Wade Sobkowich summarized in one sentence 82 combined pages of the 2023-24 grain plans published by Canada’s two national railways. “I guess if we’re going to glean any sort of signal from the numbers, it’s that the railways plan on performing this year like they did last year, and last year wasn’t so bad,” said […] Read more
Rail interswitch plan needs investment
Neither the railways nor grain shippers are happy with the federal proposal to temporarily expand the availability of regulated interswitching between Canada’s two national railways — but for different reasons. The Railway Association of Canada says extending the statutory zone in which a carrier must pick up a shipper’s cars and deliver them to a […] Read more
Credit agency monitors grain shipments
Credit rating agency DBRS Morningstar is watching western Canadian wildfires to see if grain movement will be affected. In a commentary released May 17, the agency said it didn’t believe the current fires would disrupt movement too much. Canadian National Railway had temporarily halted all trains on its main line between Edmonton and Jasper at […] Read more
