Canada Markets

The agricultural industry moved a small step forward today: the Canadian government announced it will arm the industry with more timely data requirements in which to better evaluate the performance of our two national railways and the supply chain as a whole.

In many cases, data will be required from the railways on a weekly basis, as opposed to the quarterly reports now being provided by the railways. This list includes:

-- Weekly car orders placed by all companies

-- Weekly car orders accepted by railways

-- Weekly orders spotted for loading and weekly cancellations

-- Weekly cars in-transit

-- Weekly fleet size

-- Weekly terminal unloads

-- Data pertaining to western grain moved to eastern Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, including transit times and volumes

-- U.S. grain traffic to Western Canadian destinations

-- Grain Container traffic moved to port.

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz stated "Canada's crop industry is a vital part of the Canadian economy and we will continue to work with all parts of the supply chain to get farmers' products to market. Current transportation challenges faced by producers present an opportunity for the entire value chain to improve efficiencies and position Canada's grain sector for future growth."

Hats off to the Crop Logistics Working Group who came up with the framework for this announcement. Progress can only be made with access to timely, transparent data and a clear understanding of our current positing, which these requirements will address.

However, questions come to mind. Just how accessible will this data be? Will it be made public on a regular basis? More importantly, can this data trigger action? What powers do the industry or the government have?

A recent post by The Western Producer, "Shipper, railway service agreements slow in coming", suggests that last year's Fair Rail Freight Service Act, which allows shippers the right to enter into level agreements (SLA's) with the railroads, has failed to result in one service level agreement created or arbitrated since the law was announced. As stated by Western Grain Elevators Association executive director Wade Sokowich, "our confidence in the ability of a shipper to successfully get a service level agreement with teeth is very low."

While the access to data may be a critical first step, using it to achieve gains may prove to be a difficult task.

You can weigh in with your thoughts on this issue starting Feb. 4 on DTN's weekly 360 Poll, found on the lower right of your DTN Home Page.

Cliff Jamieson can be reached at cliff.jamieson@dtn.com

(ES)

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