WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA — Following meetings on Feb. 3 with representatives from the grain supply chain, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Minister Gerry Ritz announced that the government is taking further action on early recommendations presented by members of the Crop Logistics Working Group (CLWG) to improve the competitiveness of the supply chain.

“Canada’s crop industry is a vital part of the Canadian economy and we will continue to work with all parts of the supply chain to get farmers’ products to market,” Ritz said. “Current transportation challenges faced by producers present an opportunity for the entire value chain to improve efficiencies and position Canada’s grain sector for future growth.”

Immediate actions include pursuing enhancements to the Grain Monitoring Program to improve the frequency of reporting and providing an ongoing forum for representatives across the industry to discuss improvement throughout the supply chain.

The proposed expanded range of metrics and reporting frequency would include:

• Railway order fulfillment information: weekly car orders placed by all grain companies; weekly car orders accepted (operating plan) by railways; weekly car orders actually placed by railways; and weekly cancellations of orders.
• Weekly loads on wheels by carrier.
• The covered hopper car fleet size in grain service for both mainline carriers by class of service (bad orders, etc.) on a weekly basis.
• Terminal Unload Performance by railway (weekly unloads by port, along with expanded detail on arrival, constructive placement dwell, and unloading time at terminals).
• Western Canada railway grain traffic (volumes, loaded transit times, cycle times) to Eastern Canada, United States and Mexican destinations.
• U.S. grain traffic to Western Canadian destinations.
• Western Canadian grain traffic shipped to port in containers.