CN announced that for the 11th consecutive month it has set a new record by shipping over 2.95 million metric tonnes (MMT) of Canadian grain and processed grain products via carload in January. This exceeds the previous January record set in 2019 of 2.33 MMT by 27%, as well the three-year average of 2.24 MMT by 32%.
This brings the volume of grain moved via carload in the first half of the 2020-2021 crop year, which spans from early August to the end of the following July, to over 17.5 MMT. This is 24% higher than the three-year average of 14.1 MMT, and 17% higher than the record of 14.9 MMT set in the 2018-2019 crop year.
CN is also breaking records with over 600,000 metric tonnes of grain moving direct from western Canada via container, in addition to volumes shipped from eastern Canada.
"What great news to start off 2021. I could not be prouder to see such fluidity and collaboration across all supply chains at the same time, especially in Canadian grain. We know that harsher weather is always just around the corner, so it is critical that we keep up the pace and collaboration that we have seen in the first half of the crop year to keep goods moving. I want to thank our railroaders, the ports, Canadian grain farmers, as well as all of our supply chain partners; this ongoing collaboration and constant communication is critical to the recovery of the North American economy.” Rob Reilly, executive vice-president and chief operating officer at CN.
CN's continued ability to deliver record amounts of goods is largely due to the investments in capacity done by the railroad over the past few years. Since 2018, CN has invested over $10B in track, locomotives, and railcars, including the purchase of over 2,500 new high capacity grain hopper cars.
