Bitterly cold weather is affecting grain movement this week.

Federal grain movement monitor, Mark Hemmes with Quorum Corporation says train lengths are cut by 15 to 30 percent when temperatures dip, for safety reasons.

Hemmes says there are 35 grain ships waiting to load at Vancouver and 8 at Prince Rupert.

He says it is a normal number after Christmas, although the weeklong CN Rail strike in late November has had an impact on grain movement.

In a presentation at CropSphere in Saskatoon, Hemmes noted that the railways set records for grain movement in the last crop year.

Much of that is due to new hopper cars being added to the system.

Hemmes says grain companies are also making substantial improvements at West Coast export facilities.

(CJWW)