Prairie grain companies are disappointed with rail grain movement this winter.

The executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association, Wade Sobkowich, says the most recent week saw CN Rail supply only 45 percent of hopper car demand, and CP Rail supply 48 percent.

In earlier weeks, he says it was even less.

Sobkowich says the railway winter plan was 4 thousand hopper cars per week but they’ve supplied a combined total of 16 hundred cars.

He expected some rail problems from flooding last fall and remains hopeful shipments will improve in coming weeks.

He says the railways need to make planning improvements to cover capacity issues from flooding and the pandemic.

In the meantime, Sobkowich says 19 ships are waiting in port at Vancouver and grain companies are paying waiting fees or demurrage as high as 35 thousand dollars a day.
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