CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA —Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) announced on May 3 that it set a monthly record in April for moving Canadian grain and grain products.
CP said on the strength of its service and commitment to innovation in the grain supply chain, including investing in new high-capacity hopper cars, it moved a best-ever 2.643 million tonnes of grain and grain products, bettering the previous record from October 2018.
The performance took place in a month when workload on CP's network was close to the highest it has ever been. Gross Ton-Miles (GTMs) averaged 817 million per day in April — the second-highest average workload of any month on record.
CP said the results were due to the ongoing efforts of the 13,000-strong CP family, the strength of the precision scheduled railroading operating model, and continuous communication and collaboration with customers.
“The first month of Q2 sets us up well for continued success this quarter and beyond, but it hasn’t been without significant effort from our family of railroaders, customers and the broader supply chain,” said John Brooks, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer. “Throughout 2019, the resiliency of our railroaders and our customers has been remarkable. We look forward to continuing to safely deliver for the North American economy in the days, weeks and months ahead.”
From a train length and train weight perspective, this past month marked the best April performance in CP’s history. April train length, excluding local traffic, was an average of 7,576 feet, while train weight, excluding local traffic, was an average of 9,356 tons.
In April, CP announced its net income increased to C$434 million in the first quarter ended March 31, equal to C$3.10 per share on the common stock, up 25% from C$348 million, or C$2.41 per share, in the same period a year ago. Revenues, meanwhile, increased 6.3% to C$1.767 billion from C$1.662 billion.