Dear Charlie,
Here is the Red River Farm Network 'RRFN' March 31 2014 report on US Railways BNSF in the northern US plains:
Reasons for Rail Backlog are Complicated — Criticism has increased as rail service went through numerous delays this past winter. North Dakota State University Extension crops marketing economist Frayne Olson says this is a complicated issue. “We’ve had an extremely cold winter so average speeds for rail traffic are the lowest we’ve seen since 2004. We had a very large crop; we had record corn production, near record soybean production and a very large wheat crop." Olson sees the rail backlog easing throughout the spring.
Canadian Government Proposes New Minimums for CN and CP — Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Transportation Minister Lisa Raitt have introduced a new proposal, establishing minimum standards for grain movement. This plan would require Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railroads to ship a minimum of a half-million metric tons of grain each week from early April to early August. Penalties of $100,000 per day would be in place if the CP and CN cannot meet those levels.
Rail Backlog Will Hamper Winter Wheat Harvest — BNSF Railway says it’s seeing some gradual improvement, with grain loadings showing week-over-week improvements over the past two weeks. BNSF’s Agricultural Products Group Vice-President John Miller says as of Friday, BNSF was 22.8 average days late in North Dakota, 31.1 average days late in South Dakota, and 25.9 average days late in Minnesota. With the winter wheat harvest fast approaching, Miller is alerting grain shippers in the central and southern Plains. “In past years when there was plenty of available freight, we have been able to strategically pre-position covered hoppers to meet harvest demand. Due to the car order backlog we are currently experiencing, this year we will have limited ability to pre-position cars.”
Rail Backlog Hurting Dry Beans — Dry bean elevator operators traveled to Fort Worth this past week to meet with BNSF Railway officials about their lack of service. Dean Nelson, at Kelley Bean Co. in Hatton, North Dakota, didn’t get much hope. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better is what they kept telling us.” Nelson says some rail cars are 45 to 60 days behind at his elevator. Dan Fuglesten, Central Valley Bean Cooperative, Buxton, North Dakota, says the lack of rail service is affecting the dry bean market. “I would say that there are more unsold beans at this point than there should be for this year.”
Here is the Red River Farm Network 'RRFN' March 31 2014 report on US Railways BNSF in the northern US plains:
Reasons for Rail Backlog are Complicated — Criticism has increased as rail service went through numerous delays this past winter. North Dakota State University Extension crops marketing economist Frayne Olson says this is a complicated issue. “We’ve had an extremely cold winter so average speeds for rail traffic are the lowest we’ve seen since 2004. We had a very large crop; we had record corn production, near record soybean production and a very large wheat crop." Olson sees the rail backlog easing throughout the spring.
Canadian Government Proposes New Minimums for CN and CP — Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Transportation Minister Lisa Raitt have introduced a new proposal, establishing minimum standards for grain movement. This plan would require Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railroads to ship a minimum of a half-million metric tons of grain each week from early April to early August. Penalties of $100,000 per day would be in place if the CP and CN cannot meet those levels.
Rail Backlog Will Hamper Winter Wheat Harvest — BNSF Railway says it’s seeing some gradual improvement, with grain loadings showing week-over-week improvements over the past two weeks. BNSF’s Agricultural Products Group Vice-President John Miller says as of Friday, BNSF was 22.8 average days late in North Dakota, 31.1 average days late in South Dakota, and 25.9 average days late in Minnesota. With the winter wheat harvest fast approaching, Miller is alerting grain shippers in the central and southern Plains. “In past years when there was plenty of available freight, we have been able to strategically pre-position covered hoppers to meet harvest demand. Due to the car order backlog we are currently experiencing, this year we will have limited ability to pre-position cars.”
Rail Backlog Hurting Dry Beans — Dry bean elevator operators traveled to Fort Worth this past week to meet with BNSF Railway officials about their lack of service. Dean Nelson, at Kelley Bean Co. in Hatton, North Dakota, didn’t get much hope. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better is what they kept telling us.” Nelson says some rail cars are 45 to 60 days behind at his elevator. Dan Fuglesten, Central Valley Bean Cooperative, Buxton, North Dakota, says the lack of rail service is affecting the dry bean market. “I would say that there are more unsold beans at this point than there should be for this year.”
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