Wheat,
Oats, barley, rye, flaxseed and canola had varying performances. Canola and flaxseed were down sharply in both periods, barley deliveries were strong while rye and oats were mixed.
The bleak crop forecast for the coming year will be particularly difficult for
Canadian grain accounted for 72 per cent of all grain revenues last year for both railways with
Doerksen said the net result will be a revenue headwind of about six per cent over the next 12 months for CP and about four per cent for
Wheat is projected to be down 38.3 per cent to 21.7 million tonnes because of a 32.6 per cent reduction in yields and an 8.5 per cent less harvested area.
Canola is expected to be down 34.4 per cent to 12.8 million tonnes, the lowest level since 2010.
Barley should fall 33.5 per cent to 7.1 million tonnes as a higher anticipated harvested area is not expected to offset a 38 per cent drop in yields.
Although smaller, crops of oats and peas will be even harder hit, falling 43.6 and 45 per cent, respectively.
Such low production levels haven't been seen in more than a decade and grain exports will fall 41 per cent, the lowest total since 2006-2007.
The federal government said 99 per cent of all agricultural land in
CN's rail network is concentrated in northern regions of the Prairies where growing conditions were slightly better, while CP is more exposed to southern regions.
While drought also affected
Corn and soybean production is expected to approach record levels. Corn output is forecast to grow four per cent to 14.7 billion bushels while soybeans should be up 4.9 per cent to 4.34 billion bushels.
In
CN is more exposed to grain in
"As such, CN looks to be better-positioned for
He added that
CN and CP acknowledged the challenge from drought, warning investors last month that they are unlikely to repeat the record grain shipments they posted in 2020 when they each moved about 31 million tonnes.
This report by
Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR, TSX:CP)
© 2021 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved., source