‘Scorecard’ to monitor CP Rail’s grain-hauling performance
Canadian Pacific Railway has launched an online “scorecard” to publicly grade itself on its grainhauling performance, and help keep it and other supply chain partners accountable to farmers this harvest season.
One day before farm groups are scheduled to meet federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau in Saskatoon, the Calgary-based railway said it will provide weekly updates on grain shipment volumes, as well as detailed information on any internal or external factors affecting grain movement.
The scorecard will ensure all members of the supply chain know what is happening with this year’s crop and will be able to work together to improve on any deficiencies in the transportation system, CP president and chief operating officer Keith Creel said on a conference call with analysts.
“If things do go south on us, at least the farmers and at least the government will clearly understand what can and can’t be controlled,” Creel said.
CP — along with its competitor Canadian National Railway Co. — came under heavy criticism from Canadian farm groups in 2013-14.
That year, farmers pulled in a record-breaking crop, but a transportation backlog — exacerbated by a brutally cold winter — left billions of dollars worth of grain stranded in bins and elevators.
The federal Conservative government at the time enacted emergency measures in the form of the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act, which was extended for one year by the new federal Liberal government this spring.
Among other things, that act gave cabinet the power to impose grain-hauling quotas on the railways, with fines of up to $100,000 per week for non-compliance.
The Trudeau government, through Minister Garneau, is also in the process of consulting with Canadians on a review into the national Transportation Act, conducted by former cabinet minister David Emerson.
That review suggested a number of long-term solutions to farmers’ grain transportation woes, including eliminating the revenue cap that limits the amount of money railways can make shipping regulated Prairie grain.
In an interview in Calgary on Wednesday, Canadian Transportation Agency CEO Scott Streiner said there are no indications so far to indicate farmers’ shipping requirements will not be met this year.
The CTA is the independent quasi-judicial agency that handles dispute resolution between railways and their customers.
“I will say that everybody in the system . . . would like to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2013-14,” Streiner said. “At the moment, we don’t see a cause for major concern, but we are monitoring the situation very carefully.” Streiner added he believes the relationship between grain companies and rail companies has improved since 2014.
“That said, this is a long-standing relationship between the parties that has had its ups and downs over the years, and there continue to be some challenges,” he said. “But I do think the direction things are moving is better,” he said.
CP Rail’s decision to post weekly grain performance updates is a helpful step, Streiner said, though the Transportation Act review tabled by Transport Minister Marc Garneau in February suggested that information should be collected and shared by an independent body to avoid questions of neutrality.
“That might ultimately be the direction we want to go,” Streiner said. “But wherever it comes from, whether it’s the rail company putting data into the system or shippers, it’s always helpful.”
Last week, CP said it was ready to move what’s expected to be close to a record crop, but the grain wasn’t ready because wet weather is contributing to a late harvest.
In Alberta, harvest has virtually ground to a halt because of snow and cold weather. According to the Alberta government’s weekly crop report, about 72 per cent of crops in the province had been harvested as of Oct. 11.