CN, CP set new grain haul records in November

CN and Canadian Pacific both marked records last month for moving Canadian grain.

CN set a new grain movement record in November with over 3.12 million metric tons (MMT). That follows an all-time record of 3.27 MMT moved in October and builds on monthly records going back to March, CN officials said in a press release.

Containerized grain also is setting records by moving at an unprecedented pace, with more than 400,000 metric tons shipped directly from western Canada alone since the beginning of the crop year — in addition to the tonnage shipped from eastern Canada, CN officials said.

"We remain on track to keep meeting our objectives as set out in the 2020-2021 grain plan and winter plan," said Rob Reilly, CN's executive vice president and chief operating officer. "The new high efficiency grain hopper cars that have started coming into service will also help us move more grain."

Meanwhile, CP logged its best November and second-best month for shipping Canadian grain and grain products, with 2.96 MMT moved. That exceeds the previous November record set in 2019 by 8%, and is second only to October for total monthly tonnage, CP officials said in a press release.

CP has shipped 11.13 MMT of Canadian grain and grain products in the 2020-2021 crop year, exceeding the amount shipped at this time in the 2019-2020 crop year by 15%.

CP continues to invest in its grain fleet with additional hopper cars coming into service each week. The Class I has added more than 3,700 new hopper cars via purchase or lease. The new high-efficiency rail cars carry 15% more grain by volume and 10% more by weight compared to the older cars they are replacing, CP officials said.