CN moves 7.94 million tonnes of Western Canadian grain in Q3, beating 2020

Lead

Date: 7 October 2026. Place: Canada. Organisations: Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). Event: Railway Supply reported that CN moved 7.94 million tonnes of Western Canadian grain in July–September 2026, which the article identifies as a new quarterly record compared with a 7.48 million-tonne Western Canada quarterly figure CN lists for 2020.

Verified facts

The article reports CN’s July–September 2026 Western Canadian grain movements totalled 7.94 million tonnes. CN’s crop-year report, as described in the article, lists 2.62 million tonnes moved in July 2026 and 2.50 million tonnes moved in August 2026. CN’s third-quarter report did not publish a separate September 2026 figure. Railway Supply’s arithmetic subtracts the July and August disclosed volumes from the 7.94 million-tonne quarterly total to produce an implied September 2026 volume of about 2.82 million tonnes; the article makes clear this is a Railway Supply calculation. Using that approach, the article states the third-quarter volume was about 6% above the 2020 mark; again, that percentage is presented as a Railway Supply calculation. The article says May 2026 carried more grain than any single month of the third quarter based on comparisons with CN reports for May, July, August and the third quarter.

The article notes CN’s own characterization that customer demand, coordination along the grain supply chain and execution of its operating plan contributed to the outcome. It also reports CN said it has published a 2026–2027 Winter Plan that sets out measures for the cold-weather season and that the railway aims to keep the pace through winter.

The article further reports that CPKC on 2 October 2026 said its July–September 2026 Canadian grain volume was a third-quarter record by both carloads and tonnes. CPKC reported September 2026 moved 2.94 million tonnes and 30,324 carloads of Canadian grain and grain products. The article explicitly notes CPKC did not disclose its quarterly tonnage in the same metric as CN, and that CPKC’s figures cover Canadian grain and grain products rather than Western Canada alone, making the two railways’ volumes not directly comparable.

Organisations and responsibilities

- Canadian National Railway (CN): Source of the crop-year and periodic disclosures cited in the article. CN is reported to have provided the July and August 2026 monthly figures and the 7.94 million-tonne third-quarter aggregate; the article states CN did not publish a separate September figure in the third-quarter report. CN is reported to have published a 2026–2027 Winter Plan and to have attributed the quarterly outcome to customer demand, supply-chain coordination and operating-plan execution.

- Railway Supply: Publisher of the article and the arithmetic calculations reported (including the implied September 2026 volume and the stated ~6% increase vs 2020). The article identifies these as Railway Supply calculations, not CN disclosures.

- Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC): Reported separately on 2 October 2026 as having set a July–September 2026 Canadian grain third-quarter record by carloads and tonnes; CPKC disclosed September 2026 volume and carload metrics in the article but did not disclose a directly comparable quarterly tonne total for the same Western-Canada scope CN used.

Operational and commercial context

The article presents only reported implications supported by the disclosed figures. It reports CN attributes the quarterly result to customer demand, coordination along the grain supply chain and execution of its operating plan, and that CN has published a 2026–2027 Winter Plan to sustain performance through winter. The article does not provide details of measures in the Winter Plan beyond stating it sets out measures across the network for the cold-weather season. The article does not disclose contract terms, specific network interventions, or quantitative outcomes from the Winter Plan. The article also reports CPKC’s separate record reporting but cautions the differing coverage (Canadian grain and grain products versus Western Canada only) means the two carriers’ figures are not directly comparable. Any calculations presented as comparisons or month estimates are identified as Railway Supply calculations rather than CN disclosures.

Sources

https://www.railway.supply/cn-moves-7-94-million-tonnes-of-western-canadian-grain-in-q3-beating-2020/ — Railway Supply

Disclosure

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