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Per-car rate conversion
Effective August 1, 2007, both Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) will eliminate the per-tonne grain freight rates currently in effect and implement new per-car rate tariffs.
CN made this switch on non-CWB handled grains on August 1, 2006. Now they will publish freight tariffs for CWB handled grains as a per-car rate. CP will simultaneously convert all their grain freight rates to a per-car rate starting August 1, 2007.
What this means for freight costs
Freight rates under the per-car tariffs will still be subject to the Western Grain Railway Revenue Cap. The CWB will monitor carefully to ensure that the railways are in compliance with any increases allowed under the Composite Price Index by the Canadian Transportation Agency.
Producer car loaders will see a change in their freight invoices. With the rates now being calculated per carload - not per tonne - the freight charges will not be affected by the actual unload weights. Instead, a flat rate based on the car origin and destination will be charged according to the published railway tariff, available on the railways’ Web sites.
For producers delivering to grain companies, the grain companies will set per-tonne rate basing their calculation on the railways’ per-car rates. The CWB will continue to provide converted per-tonne rate data on the Freight Consideration Rates tables as a guideline only. Conversion from per-car to per-tonne rates will be based on the conversion factors determined by the railways, as demonstrated below.
| Railway | Car size | Divided by |
|---|---|---|
| CN | Medium capacity (4,500 – 5,100 cubic feet) | 90 tonnes – wheat 80 tonnes – barley |
| CPR | Low Capacity (under 4,800 cubic feet) | 91 tonnes – wheat 80 tonnes - barley |
Guard against overloads!
Now that freight rates are changing to per-car rates, producer car loaders will need to be extra cautious to ensure loading to full visible capacity will not result in exceeding the hopper car weight limit. All hopper cars have a gross, tare and load limit weights stencilled on their side. Producer car loaders should check these weights carefully, and pre-weigh truckloads to ensure they are as close as possible to, but not over, the load weight limit.
For more information on conversion factors and tariffs, visit