CALGARY, Alberta – Canadian Pacific has hauled more Canadian grain and grain products in the 2019-2020 crop production year than any in its 139-year history. In total, CP moved 29.52 million metric tonnes this crop year, exceeding 2019’s record of 26.77 MMT by 10 percent.
“The world depends on Canadian farmers for food and we understand the important role CP and the grain supply chain play in getting crops to market,” President and CEO Keith Creel says. “In this banner crop year, the men and women of CP proved again they’re more than ready for the task. I am immensely proud of the CP family and the entire grain supply chain in delivering a second consecutive crop-year record, and by such a significant margin. This truly shows the value of CP’s capacity for the movement of grain.”
In addition to the record crop year, CP announced today its best-ever July for transporting Canadian grain and grain products, with 2.58 MMT hauled. The July record is CP’s ninth monthly record set during the 2019-2020 crop year.
This year’s successes are a testament to the efficiency of the 8,500-foot High Efficiency Product train model. An 8,500-foot train can carry in excess of 40 percent more grain than the 7,000-foot train model when combined with the additional capacity of CP’s new high-efficiency hopper cars. Customers are actively investing in their elevator networks to accommodate 8,500-foot trains. By year-end, more than 30 percent of the CP-served unit train loaders will be 8,500-foot qualified, increasing capacity and efficiency in the grain supply chain for customers and stakeholders.
Shipping containers also played an important role in exporting Canada’s crop. This year, CP moved more than 650,000 metric tonnes of western Canadian grain to export markets in containers. With containerized grain included in the total, CP transported more than 30 MMT during the crop year.
CP continues to take delivery of high-capacity grain hopper cars as part of a half-billion-dollar commitment in 2018 to purchase 5,900 of the newest-generation railcars. The new cars can carry 10 percent more grain by weight and 15 percent more by volume than the older Government of Canada cars they are replacing; more than 2,900 are now in service. As a result of this capacity upgrade, the amount of grain CP was able to transport in each railcar increased by 1 metric tonne from a year earlier.
—From a Canadian Pacific press release
