CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA — Canadian Pacific (CP) set a new record for shipping grain and grain products in May. The new record of 2.8 million tonnes beats the previous May 2014 record by 300,000 tonnes.

As of May 31, 2020, CP’s total grain movement for 2019-20 crop year totals 24.17 million tonnes.

“The CP family has continued to deliver service excellence to our customers in this COVID-19 environment,” said Mark Redd, executive vice president of operations for CP. “CP’s operating teams in the field who serve country elevators and port terminals have risen to the challenge and created an environment of constructive tension that is pushing everyone to deliver. We are finding further efficiencies in every aspect of the business, creating quicker hopper car cycles, longer trains, lower dwell and faster train speeds.”

CP also attributes the increase in grain movement to its nearly 2,700 new high-capacity hopper cars in service. The new hopper cars can carry 15% more volume and 10% more weight compared to the older cars they are replacing. An 8,500-foot HEP train can carry more than 40% more grain than the 7,000-foot train model when combined with the additional capacity of the new hopper cars.

“CP’s customers are embracing the capacity and efficiency of the 8,500-foot HEP train model and benefiting from the overall fluidity of the network,” said Joan Hardy, vice president of sales and marketing grain and fertilizers for CP. “Our customers have invested at their CP-served facilities through building new high-throughput elevators and through expanding and re-configuring existing elevators. The record grain volumes moved so far this crop year highlight the collaboration and partnership between CP and our customers and are symbolic of the value of the capacity we are generating together.”