Grain to Vancouver whose to blame

[craig]

Here we go again. The CWB is flooding the media waves with concerns re demurrage on ships waiting in Vancouver and Prince Rupert. Supposed purpose. (A) we are looking out for the poor little farmer. (B) we now have another excuse if pool returns are poor.(C) we need to point out it's someone elses fault. For someone who has been unable to deliver any CWRS to the elevator(I'm not alone) the question becomes where does the blame lay. The CWB by putting a large sales program together over a small time period is setting themselves up for logistical problems. The rail union also knows when opportunity presents itself. This problem seems occurs if not every year, then every two years. The CWB plays a large part in the logistics of moving grain to port. Quit claiming it's totally someone elses fault.

[catchmeifyoucan]

I agree criag did they not know there where union contacts that had expired.Which usually lead to a strike.Lets order 30 ships we'll show those farmers how powerful we are.Then we'll write a letter to the minister of the wheat board and ask for his help.Can you believe it?

[wmoebis]

Where is the backlog at? Is it that the ships aren't being loaded because there is no grain in port? Is it that the rail isn't delivering? Is it that the elevators don't have the right grain in stoage? Or what?

The only thing that is constant is that we farmers pay for something that is out of our control. There should be safety nets in place so that who ever is at fault picks up all cost including demurage charges and costs of the whole system.

Maybe then the unions and management will think about getting their contracts in place before they are in a stike position and are forced to do marathon barganing. Someone has to be made accountable in the system other than us farmers.

[FarmRanger]

Accountability with no authority...great combination

[craig]

Just read a market letter piece that also suggests that the blame for the current backlog of ships waiting to load in Vancouver is mostly due to the CWB heavy booking program over a short time frame. It goes on to say that transportation problems are inherent to cold temperatures on the prairies. It also says that this heavy demand on railcars by the board is creating logistical problems for other grains. Comment that container shipments are in an even worse state than bulk shipments.Chalk another one up that when we do something right we tell everyone for the next 10 years. When we screw up it's someone elses fault.

[BennyHin]

Craig: This post provoked my interest. I checked the CGC export data, looks like board grain exports were below average for January at Vancouver and Rupert combined. So it doesnt look like their program wasnt overbooked, even considering if you add up the number of ships that were waiting at the end of the month.

I did notice that the Canola export numbers were massive, well over 1/2 million tonnes.

From talking to my elevator manager, he told me they were loading canola cars over board grain orders for the last few weeks, as their company had lots of orders to fill for Vancouver. Looks like it is a fight over rail cars that is causing this.

Too bad Morris Dorish did provide his readers with a little more indepth analysis to the west coast freight issues. Wasnt Morris complaining a while back that the CWB wasnt selling enough grain (i.e. 80% acceptance of A-series board contracts)?

I think eventually, the only way this will be settled is if we go to a full bid system on railcars, just as in the USA. It will probably end up costing us more, as limited freight is rationed, through a bidding process.

Now if we could all avoid these freight costs and sell our grain like Parsley, F.O.B. farm (apparently Parsley doesnt pay for freight), we have nothing to fear.

[peaqueen]

The Vancouver corridor is only able to a handle so much traffic. Lack of a coordinated system plan is to blame.

Rather than trying to assess blame, farmers should be demanding an urgent transportation review (which has a component of ongoing review and adjustment) with a fixed target date of response (not another study with no action or consequences) targeted to find and implement solutions. We are all loosing under the current scenario and process.

The real blame lies with the system that governs this agenda. And if we want this fixed it would be time to demand focus on this issue and the fact it is not likely to impove without managed change.

As for container sales which is what we do, our sales pattern is more a calculation of freight availability than global product demand or farmer supply. This is reality, and this has become a huge limitation to our market.

We need a reveiw, and farmers need to demand one which is a more effective application of energy than blame.

[kamichel]

So if one of the rail companies CN has 2.1 billion profit then certainly some of that money could be used to create better service. Too much effort being put on making shareholders money and not enough on upkeep and meeting changing conditions.
I was told at the Bunge station here CN line that the cars were 6 weeks late the whole crop year. One time the whole line of cars were put on one track instead of splitting them up because the engineer figured it was time to go home. Then took another 3 days before another engineer had the time to stop a train and move the cars so that they could be loaded.

[Fransisco]

Boy, its sure a good thing we didn't listen to Judge Estey's recomendations on this ongoing mess. If we had he now wouldn't have the chance to say I told you so.

[Vader]

It was interesting that peaqueen says

"As for container sales which is what we do, our sales pattern is more a calculation of freight availability than global product demand or farmer supply. This is reality, and this has become a huge limitation to our market."

Freight availability factors heavily into CWB sales. The system must run at capacity in order for Canada to fulfill its export committments and realize on farmers expectations.

Contrary to the situation peaqueen refers to the CWB must factor in global demand by country, by class, by grade, by ocean freight availability, and by price and couple this with on farm inventories, contract committments, weather, road condition, and probably a few more I have forgotten.

Many out there will say that the open market system responds and handles this just fine. Well does it? At what cost? To whose benefit?

I think that an organization such as the CWB with a "big picture" view of the industry from farmgate to customer is much more able to make the right decisions and put money in the farmers pocket than the capitalistic model which is designed to benefit the likes of Agriwh@$# and other friends of the Harper government.