Canadian Pacific reports it's well-positioned and ready to move this year's western Canadian grain crop, which is forecast to be significantly bigger than the five-year average, to market.
CP is calling on all supply chain partners to work collaboratively to continue moving record amounts of grain, as CP did during 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 crop-years.
"To ensure success during this crop-year, the broader supply chain must work together to collectively harness our energy so that the entire Canadian economy can reap the maximum benefit," said E. Hunter Harrison, CP's Chief Executive Officer. "We have been preparing for this crop year for months and we are ready."
The rail supply chain has returned to normal since the extraordinary crop and winter of 2013-14 and CP has continued to move record amounts of grain. This means there is now excess capacity in the supply chain, including thousands of rail cars in storage ready to move the latest crop.
CP notes its significant investments in its infrastructure to move grain more efficiently. Over the past few years CP has invested record amounts of private sector capital into capacity-building improvements to meet the expanding needs of our customers. Recent supply chain partner investments are encouraging, especially in grain country elevator capacity and port capacity. These investments in all of the interconnected elements of the supply chain are critical to a strong, efficient and reliable system that has the capacity to move Canada's grain crop each year. In order for the system to move record volumes of grain, CP believes it is essential that port terminals such as Vancouver operate on a 24/7 basis, remain fluid and that the seaway, especially the Port of Thunder Bay, be utilized to take pressure off Vancouver.
Grain is CP's largest line of business. Grain movement for the 2015-16 crop year was flat relative to 2014-15, 4.7% higher than our three-year average and 11.6% above our five-year average.