Canadian Pacific sets new record with October grain haul

Canadian Pacific set a new record for shipping Canadian grain and grain products in October at 3.04 million metric tons (MMT) moved, the first time CP exceeded 3 MMT in a month.

The achievement exceeds the highest-ever record for a month, set in April 2020, by 6.9%. It also represents a 14.2% increase from the previous October record of 2.66 MMT set in in 2019, CP officials said in a press release.

"CP's customers are managing strong and healthy supply chains to the ports, where new and expanded terminal capacity is facilitating very strong flows of grain," said Joan Hardy, CP's vice president of sales and marketing grain and fertilizers. 

The Class I's railroaders "ensured our customers and farmers received strong service through harvest and in turn created robust performance" across the network, Hardy said.

CP continues to invest in its grain fleet with additional hopper cars coming into service each week. So far, the Class I has placed 3,300 new hoppers into service out of a commitment, made in 2018, to add 5,900. The new high-efficiency cars carry 15% more grain volume and 10% more weight compared to the older cars they are replacing, CP officials said.

"CP's record-setting performance has enabled us to support the investments we have made in our grain-handling network, which includes port terminals on the East and West coasts," said Darwin Sobkow, chief operations officer of Richardson International. "CP has been able to respond to global demand for Canadian agricultural products, and through our collaborated efforts, has allowed us to set some monthly records of our own."