CN Continues Record-Breaking Grain Haul Pace

“The ongoing collaboration between CN, the ports, Canadian grain farmers, as well as all of our supply chain partners has been, without any doubt, the key to our success” in February, the first half of which was “characterized by a severe cold outbreak,” Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rob Reilly said.

CN shipped more than 2.28 million metric tonnes (MMT) of Canadian grain and processed grain products via carload in February—setting a new volume record for the 12th straight month, despite challenging weather conditions.

The move beat the previous February record set in 2019 by 7%, according to CN. The railroad also reported “breaking records” with more than 700,000 metric tonnes of grain moving from western Canada via containers, in addition to volumes shipped from eastern Canada.

So far during the 2021-21 crop year, CN has moved more than 19.7 MMT of Canadian grain—24% higher than the three-year average of 15.9 MMT, and 17% higher than the record of 16.9 MMT set in the 2018-19 crop year.

“We are proud of the accomplishments of our team of railroaders despite the fact that the first half of the month of February was characterized by a severe cold outbreak,” Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rob Reilly said. “The resulting challenging operating conditions across a large part of our network did not prevent them from ensuring that our network was running safely and that we kept meeting our customers’ needs during this period. CN’s investments in air [brake line pressure] distribution cars and automated track inspection technology (ATIP) have contributed to greater safety and higher productivity this winter. The ongoing collaboration between CN, the ports, Canadian grain farmers, as well as all of our supply chain partners was, without any doubt, the key to our success during this challenging month.”

In January, CN moved more than 2.95 MMT of Canadian grain and processed grain products via carload.