The number of grain cars in Canada’s aging federal hopper car fleet continues to shrink as more cars are removed from service due to age, damage and rising maintenance costs. According to the federal government’s Hopper Car Fleet Annual Report for 2019, the number of federal hoppers in service dropped to 7,193 cars by Jan. […] Read more
Tag Archives grain transportation
Judge cites fairness in ruling on revenue cap
Appeals court says CTA didn’t inform CP of the changes it made to how maximum revenue entitlements are calculated
A recent ruling by the Federal Court of Appeal has determined that the Canadian Transportation Agency did not act fairly when it considered factors that will influence Canadian Pacific Railway’s Volume Related Composite Price Index (VRCPI) for the 2020-21 crop year. The VRCPI is part of complex formula used to determine maximum revenue entitlements (MREs), […] Read more
Short-line grant returns in Sask.
Saskatchewan has reinstated its grant program for short-line railways, although at a lesser amount. The recent budget allocated $530,000 for the province’s 13 short lines. That compares to $900,000 available in the program before it was cancelled in 2017. The short lines used the money, which was cost-shared, on maintenance and track infrastructure upgrades. “It’s […] Read more
Thunder Bay starts shipping
The 2021 shipping season is underway at the Port of Thunder Bay, Ont. Tug Sharon M1 and Barge Huron Spirit arrived at the Port of Thunder Bay March 26, signaling the start of the new navigation season. The tug and barge are owned and operated by McKeil Marine of Burlington, Ont. The barge carried a […] Read more
Thunder Bay kicks off new shipping season
The 2021 shipping season is underway at the Port of Thunder Bay, Ont. Tug Sharon M1 and Barge Huron Spirit arrived at the Port of Thunder Bay March 26, signaling the start of the new navigation season. The tug and barge are owned and operated by McKeil Marine of Burlington, Ont. The barge carried a […] Read more
Nasty February magnifies supply chain issues
One consequence is an imbalance between grain stocks in country elevators and stocks at west coast export terminals
Frigid temperatures in February have thrown a speedbump in front of what has otherwise been an exceptional year for bulk grain movement. Canada’s bulk supply chain is still feeling the effects of a two- to three-week cold snap in February that slowed rail traffic, disrupted export sales programs and pushed grain inventories in the country […] Read more
Bill Gates owns largest ownership stake at CN
The founder of Microsoft is also the largest farmland owner in the United States and has invested heavily in plant protein
The fourth richest man in the world has quietly become by far the biggest shareholder in Canada’s largest railway. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has amassed a sizeable ownership stake in Canadian National Railway Co. Most of those shares were acquired through Cascade Investment LLC, an investment firm solely owned by Gates. Cascade owns 101,400,770 shares, […] Read more
Grain drives Thunder Bay’s successful year
Officials with the Port of Thunder Bay say the 2020 shipping season was the port’s most successful in more than two decades. The northern Ontario port moved nearly 10.2 million tonnes of cargo in 2020, up from 9.3 million tonnes in 2019. Higher grain volumes were a key driver behind the port’s improved cargo volumes. […] Read more
Cabinet shuffle produces new transport minister
A small cabinet shuffle in Ottawa has resulted in changes in three portfolios, including transport. Omar Alghabra is a newcomer to cabinet, although he served as parliamentary secretary to the minister of international trade diversification. First elected in 2006, he represents Mississauga Centre. While much of his focus will be on the airline industry, which […] Read more
Grain handling system sees major overhaul
Every element of the system has radically evolved since the mid-1990s, from trucks to elevators to trains to ports
In almost every way, the Canadian grain handling and exporting system is a quantum leap forward from where it was a quarter of a century ago. “There’s been more change in the last 25 years than, I think, the previous 50,” said Mark Hemmes, the president of the federally appointed grain handling monitor Quorum Corp. […] Read more
