CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA — Canadian Pacific (CP) moved 2.29 million tonnes of Canadian grain and grain products in January, setting a new record for the month.

CP has moved more than 15 million tonnes of Canadian grain and grain products so far in the 2022-23 crop year, surpassing last season’s total by more than 45%.

“CP’s grain performance through January demonstrates the strength of our customers’ supply chains, and the strong resiliency of our railway operations and effective winter planning, allowing CP to deliver for our customers,” said Joan Hardy, vice president of sales and marketing, grain and fertilizers at CP. “CP, our customers and other supply chain participants were able to ship nearly double the volume of grain and grain products compared to January 2022, despite slowed grain vessel loading because of rain in Vancouver, holiday closures and periods of extreme winter operating conditions.”

CP has invested more than $500 million in new high-capacity hopper cars.

The rail company has called on the government and industry to improve the ability to load grain vessels in the rain at west coast terminals. This problem in Vancouver, British Columbia, is causing significant capacity constraints for Canada’s export of grain and agricultural products.

Persistent rain delays in Vancouver disrupt the cycling of rail cars from the Port of Vancouver back to the in-country grain elevators on the Prairies, where they are re-loaded with grain and transported back to the West Coast. These delays unavoidably reduce the grain supply chain's velocity and export capacity.

“CP appreciates the attention of both government and industry to this matter, and looks forward to stakeholders finding pragmatic and safe solutions to maximize throughput for Canada’s export grain supply chain,” Hardy said.