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The Port of Long Beach, Calif., recently released a draft environmental impact report on a proposed grain export facility at Pier T on Terminal Island.

Total Terminals International L.L.C. (TTI) plans to build a facility designed to transfer grain from rail cars into ocean shipping containers. The facility would export 750,000 to 1.5 million tons of grain per year using existing rail lines and container shipping capabilities.

TTI plans to construct the facility on property it leases from the port; the facility would occupy about 10 acres of TTI’s 385-acre shipping terminal at Pier T.

The port plans to hold a public hearing Jan. 11 to review the project and draft environmental report. Port officials will accept written comments on the draft report until Jan. 23.

Meanwhile, Canadian Pacific announced yesterday that it improved service for Canadian grain shippers this crop year by reducing scheduling variability and increasing access to rail cars. So far in the current crop year, empty order fulfillment — a car availability metric — has increased 19 percent, or 11,000 units, on a year-over-year basis, CP officials said in a prepared statement.

The Class I has grouped more than 165 prairie-based elevators into eight separate operating hubs, which commit locomotives and a dedicated scheduled day of service to each elevator. The operating model has improved on-time performance 26 percent, allowing customers to better optimize their grain elevator operations through more effective delivery coordination and manpower planning, CP officials said.

"We have worked in conjunction with our grain customers to facilitate a strong network of modern grain elevators located on the Canadian Prairies that are capable of loading 112-car unit trains within a 24-hour period, adding significantly to the efficiency of the grain handling and transportation system," said Steve Whitney, CP’s vice president of agri-business and market development.

CP also upgraded information technology by introducing an online Grain Car Request System (GCRS) that enables shippers to request cars and track shipments. GCRS provides planning flexibility “that has proven key to the successful delivery of improved year-over-year performance,” CP officials said.

In the United States and Canada, CP moves an average of more than 45 million tons of grain annually from 395 origin elevators to 30 port terminals.