Grain Freight Rates.

[farmaholic]

1.46 billion dollars was allowed to move the 14/15 crop to port by the two railways. They were ordered to pay back 6.9 million for exceeding the revenue cap. On a percentage basis that is .47% of the total amount allowed....suddenly, on a percentage basis the "excess" doesn't sound extreme in comparison to the total allowed.

What you thinking Hoppy?

[Hopalong]

Would like to see recommendation from CTA review about revenue entitlement and hopper car ownership and replacement.Think longer term answer is putting grain shipment on equal footing with other commodities like oil and potash.
Hope we can get past multi decades long farmer emotion related to Crow and wheat board debates.

[bucket]

I think with the reduction in delivery points, and longer trains maybe rates should be recalculated?

And not higher. When was the last time it was looked at ... 1993?

[bucket]

Hopalong

That's exactly what the railways want.

Here's the issue. Every tonne of potash has freight as a calculated cost in the selling price.

And that way the end user pays the freight.

10 million tonnes of potash will move before 65 million tonnes of grain. We are filler work and should be charged accordingly.

The railways have made no attempt to speed up their logistics.

[farmaholic]

Hopalong. I don't think we are in a position to compete with oil and potash or pay more without competition from either . It stills sticks in my craw that we don't have any viable options. We are held captive or hostage.

Carry on...

[Hopalong]

Think the reason farmers got preferred or regulated rates in the past was our political strength due to numbers.
With most of commodity grain production now done by less than one per cent of population, those days are gone.
Time to move on.

[bucket]

Hopalong

You are promoting the consolidation of Fars. Go big or go home will be the mantra.

Until the big fish finally realize it doesn't make sense.

And then we look like russia.

[Hopalong]

Not promoting, already happened
Hard to turn back the clock.

[farmaholic]

Preferrencial rates... I think it has more to do with one of the hot button topics you didn't want to discuss, you know, kinda like the treaties the natives signed. Perpetuity.... Until the Gov dangled a carrot and the cheque didn't come close to covering two years worth of freight here at the time.

But yes, that is history and time to move on.

What does it cost to move a tonne of potash, oil, general freight, or what ever and how ever you can make a direct comparison to the cost of moving grain(about $35/tonne average).

In 14/15, there was about 41 million tonnes of grain moved, to me that sounds like a lot of product/business.

[bucket]

I always thought volume gets you a better deal.

Potash train equals 10000 tonnes of product. Grain train equals 10000 tonne of product.

If they don't have the same rate someone is maybe getting a not so good deal.

Ultimately it gets to down to service. Should any grain point go a month without loading a train? Consideringwhat they charge?

[FarmRanger]

Allowing a monopoly to charge whatever they like will result in higher costs and poorer service (if that's possible).
The antidote to the railroad's monopoly powers to date has been regulation. If you're going to remove that, you'd better do something else to level the playing field or suffer the consequences.

How about open running rights?

[Hopalong]

Have heard reason railways agreed to maximum revenue entitlement was prospect of open running rights.
Do not hear a lot of dissatisfaction from other commodity shippers, at least to the point of demanding more regulation .
Perhaps they fear more regulation over themselves.

[bucket]

Potash Corp can recoup any freight rate.

It costs 150 bucks cdn to get potash into a railcar. They have plenty of room to pay the freight.

Just an example of why freight doesn't matter to other industries....it recoverable. And they get service.