Crude oil shipments by rail in Canada are at record highs and forecast to continue climbing, as oil production has increased with no major expansion in export pipeline capacity. At the same time, executives for Canada’s two major railways say they intend to maintain rail capacity for grain. 198,788 barrels of oil per day were… Read more »
Category: Logistics
Trucker shortage threatens agricultural trade flows
Agriculture requires the transportation of goods via highway, water, and rail across North America. When it comes to challenges, the rivers in the U.S. and railways in Canada tend to get much of the media coverage, but what about the trucking industry? At first thought about the issue you might suspect that quality of the… Read more »
Deal to sell Churchill port and rail line falls apart
A deal that would have seen the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) sold to a consortium that includes Fairfax Financial Holdings, pulse crop exporter AGT Food and Ingredients, and several dozen northern and Indigenous communities has fallen through, according to the company that currently owns the infrastructure. Omnitrax reached an agreement-in-principle… Read more »
Churchill viewed as a “viable surge port” for prairie grain, says Al-Katib
The head of one of Canada’s largest pulse crop exporting companies is optimistic we’ll see Western Canadian crops shipped through the Port of Churchill again. AGT Food & Ingredients is one of the partners in a group that has reached an agreement-in-principle to purchase the port and the rail line leading to it from OmniTrax…. Read more »
CP Rail planning to invest half a billion dollars in 5,900 new hopper cars
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) has announced a major investment in new hopper cars following the federal government’s passage of Bill C-49. Just weeks after Canadian National Railway (CN) announced an order for 1,000 new hopper cars, CP unveiled plans on Thursday to spend more than $500 million on around 5,900 high-capacity grain cars over the… Read more »
La Coop fédérée to build $90 million grain terminal at Port of Quebec
La Coop fédérée has announced plans for a $90 million grain transfer terminal to be built at the Port of Quebec for agriculture commodities destined for European and Asian markets. The new terminal at Pier 106 in Anse au Foulon will have the capacity to export of 1.3 million metric tons of grain per year, with an… Read more »
AGT Food and Ingredients part of Churchill rail and port deal
Could Western Canadian crops once again be exported through the Port of Churchill? Owner Omnitrax has reached an agreement-in-principle to sell the rail line leading to Churchill and the Port of Churchill to a consortium that includes pulse exporter AGT Food and Ingredients, according to the federal government. The Hudson Bay rail line has been… Read more »
Trudeau says gov’t won’t be “very quick” with back-to-work order, as CP Rail strike begins
Around 3,000 conductors and engineers who work for Canadian Pacific Railway went on strike on Tuesday evening after negotiations with the railway failed to yield a settlement prior to the strike deadline at 10pm eastern. Negotiations between the union and the railway are ongoing, with federal mediators involved. The union says it is willing to… Read more »
Why grain shippers expect C-49 will improve rail transportation
There’s been plenty of buzz this week among farm groups and the grain industry about the long-awaited passage of Bill C-49 — the federal government’s transportation legislation that covers everything from airline ownership rules to what grain companies can put in contracts with railways. Farm group leaders and representatives from the grain industry joined federal… Read more »
CN confirms purchase of 1,000 new hopper cars
CN Rail says it is moving ahead with a previously discussed plan to purchase 1,000 new grain hopper cars over the next two years following the passage of Bill C-49 in Parliament earlier this week. “This substantial investment in higher capacity payload hopper cars, with up to 10 per cent more capacity than the older… Read more »
Farm groups applaud transportation bill becoming law
Farm and grain industry groups are giving a big thumbs-up to the federal government for finally passing Bill C-49. The Transportation Modernization Act received royal assent on Wednesday, after gaining final approval from the Senate late Tuesday. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay will be joined by grain industry stakeholders at a Richardson elevator just north of Winnipeg… Read more »
Saskatchewan’s Northgate terminal receives BNSF certification
The only grain-handling terminal in Canada with direct service from a U.S. railroad has been recognized by BNSF Railway as one of 12 rail-loading sites in North America that are primed for more business. Ceres Global Ag Corp, which owns the Northgate Terminal along the Canada-U.S. border in southeast Saskatchewan, says the terminal has received… Read more »
Bill C-49 gains final approval
The federal government’s transportation bill, which includes changes to railway legislation welcomed by farm and grain industry stakeholders, gained final approval from the Senate late Tuesday, after bouncing back and forth several times between the House of Commons and the Senate. Among other measures, the bill gives shippers the right to charge railways with penalties… Read more »
Update: MPs to send C-49 back to the Senate again, after next week’s break
Updated, May 11: The Liberals in the House of Commons have indicated they will reject the Senate’s two latest amendments, sending the bill back to the Senate, however a vote won’t be held before May 22nd. The back-and-forth between the House of Commons and the Senate over Bill C-49 continues, as the Senate on Wednesday… Read more »
C-49 taking the long route, headed back through the Senate
The grain industry will likely have to wait at least a few more weeks for passage of Bill C-49, the federal legislation containing new rules pertaining to rail transportation. The House of Commons passed Transport Minister Marc Garneau’s motion to accept only 10 of the Senate’s 19 amendments to the Bill C-49 on Thursday, sending… Read more »