OREANDA-NEWS. Canadian Pacific is well positioned to provide best-in-class service to western Canadian grain shippers during the 2015-2016 crop-year.

CP's service offering to grain customers is driven by efficiency and creating velocity in the rail portion of the complex grain supply chain.  CP's Dedicated Train Program (DTP), which was introduced last-crop year, provides customers with greater clarity and control of car supply to manage their supply chain.  CP anticipates adding more trains to the program this crop year as it responds to greater demand to move grain and grain products from western Canada.

In the 2014-2015 crop year, CP moved a record 276,154 carloads (27,849,434 MT) of Canadian grain and grain products from western Canadian origins, up from the previous record crop year of 2013-2014.

"CP is moving record amounts of grain from western Canada and approximately 70 percent of our grain operation is served by the DTP.  The customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive," said John Brooks, CP's Vice-President Sales and Marketing, Bulk. "The DTP is based on the fact that the unit train shippers know their business the best - allowing them to determine origin, destination and to manage the velocity of their supply chain."

CP continues to invest in its network to improve efficiency, create velocity and provide the best service possible to customers. In 2015, CP will spend 21 percent of its revenue on capital expenditures, more than any other Class 1 railroad. Canadian rail rates remain among the lowest in the world, having risen just 6 percent since 2000 even as commodity prices have soared by 166 percent.

For less than unit train customers, CP's Open Distribution is segmented to better fulfill the shipping needs to these end-markets.  Customers who do not qualify for the DTP, or choose not to sign up for the program, can order cars in the Open Distribution program. Open Distribution allows shippers to input orders for four weeks, and as orders are filled, new orders can be placed.

"We continue to offer valuable and efficient service to our less than unit train customers via Open Distribution," said Brooks. "This service is informed by on-going and collaborative discussions with shippers and coordination through the Canadian Grain Commission for producer car loaders. We are constantly working to recognize and meet the differing needs of all the customers we serve."

These collaborative programs give flexible options to our customers both large and small.

"CP's Dedicated Train Program has created efficiencies for Viterra while allowing greater flexibility of train placement to ensure the right grain is moving to export position," said Kyle Jeworski, Viterra's Chief Executive Officer. "The program is a positive step forward in the movement of Canadian grains, and we look forward to continuing to work with CP to support our overall focus on driving supply chain excellence for our farmers and destination customers."

CP has stressed and will continue to stress that the complex Canadian grain supply chain must operate on a 24/7 basis to support balanced pipelines, reduce congestion and drive velocity.