CPKC Sets New Canadian Grain Transportation Record in 2025–2026 Crop Year
Canadian Pacific Kansas City has achieved a new annual record for transporting Canadian grain and grain products, moving 30.66 million metric tonnes during the 2025–2026 crop year. The milestone marks the highest annual volume of Canadian grain ever transported by CPKC and demonstrates the railway’s role in supporting Canada’s agricultural supply chain.
The latest figure surpassed CPKC’s previous annual record of 30.59 million metric tonnes, established during the 2020–2021 crop year, by approximately 72,500 metric tonnes. The achievement comes after a year of strong grain production and sustained demand for rail transportation across Canada’s agricultural sector.
The record also highlights the importance of rail infrastructure and efficient supply-chain operations in moving large volumes of agricultural commodities from production regions to domestic and international markets.
CPKC said its teams maintained consistent performance throughout the crop year while supporting customers, grain elevators, terminal operators, and other supply-chain partners.
“Our team of exceptional railroaders reliably delivered the largest Canadian grain crop in history with consistency throughout the crop year,” said John Brooks, CPKC Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. He added that the railway’s focus on service excellence, combined with effective execution by customers and terminal operators, contributed to the record performance.
The company said the result reinforces its long-standing commitment to providing safe, efficient, and dependable transportation services for Canadian grain producers and shippers.
Record Volume Reflects Strong Agricultural Demand
CPKC transported 30.66 million metric tonnes of Canadian grain and grain products during the 2025–2026 crop year, representing an 11 percent increase compared with the previous crop year.
The increase becomes even more significant when measured against longer-term averages. The latest annual volume was 16 percent higher than CPKC’s three-year average and 20 percent above its five-year average.
These figures demonstrate that the 2025–2026 crop year represented a particularly strong period for Canadian grain transportation.
For agricultural producers and grain shippers, reliable rail service is essential to maintaining access to markets. Canada is one of the world’s major agricultural exporters, and large quantities of grain must move efficiently from farms and storage facilities to processing facilities, ports, and other destinations.
Rail transportation plays a critical role in that process because of its ability to move large volumes of commodities over long distances. The record achieved by CPKC indicates that the railway was able to handle elevated demand while maintaining its focus on operational performance.
Quarterly and Monthly Records
The strength of CPKC’s grain performance was not limited to the full-year result.
Throughout the 2025–2026 crop year, the railway established Canadian grain transportation records during the first and second quarters of 2026.
CPKC also recorded its highest monthly grain transportation volumes in January, February, April, May, and June 2026.
The repeated monthly records indicate that the company’s performance was supported by sustained demand and effective operations over multiple periods rather than being driven by a single exceptionally strong month.
Consistent performance is particularly important for the agricultural supply chain because grain transportation demand can fluctuate according to harvest cycles, weather conditions, export activity, storage capacity, and global commodity markets.
By maintaining high transportation volumes across multiple months, CPKC demonstrated its ability to support customers throughout the crop year.
Investment Across the Grain Supply Chain
CPKC attributed part of the record performance to continued investment across the grain supply chain.
Elizabeth Hucker, CPKC Vice President, Sales & Marketing Bulk, said investment by both grain customers and the railway is creating additional capacity for Canadian agriculture.
One of the developments highlighted by CPKC is customer investment in elevators capable of handling 8,500-foot trains.
Longer trains can provide significant efficiency benefits when the necessary infrastructure is available. By allowing more grain to be loaded and transported in a single train movement, 8,500-foot-capable elevators can support higher volumes while potentially reducing the number of individual train movements required to move the same quantity of commodities.
Such investments need to be supported by railway infrastructure, equipment, operating practices, and terminal capabilities. CPKC said its own ongoing investments in its network, assets, and operations are working alongside customer investments to improve the overall efficiency of the grain supply chain.
The combination of longer-train capability and infrastructure improvements can help create stronger end-to-end performance.
Collaboration With Customers and Terminal Operators
The record also illustrates the importance of collaboration across the agricultural logistics network.
Moving grain from farms to final markets involves numerous participants, including producers, grain elevators, railway operators, terminal facilities, ports, exporters, and customers.
A disruption at one stage can affect the performance of the entire supply chain. As a result, strong coordination between railways and their customers is essential during periods of high demand.
CPKC said the record crop year was supported by the solid execution of its customers and terminal operators.
The railway’s ability to move record volumes therefore reflects not only its own operations but also the capacity and preparedness of the broader grain transportation network.
Investments in elevators, terminals, railway infrastructure, and equipment can work together to improve throughput and reliability.
Supporting Canadian Agriculture
The transportation of grain is closely connected to the economic performance of Canada’s agricultural sector.
Canadian farmers produce large quantities of wheat, barley, canola, and other agricultural commodities for domestic consumption and international markets. Many of these products must travel considerable distances before reaching processors, ports, or overseas customers.
Efficient rail transportation helps connect agricultural regions with these markets.
CPKC’s record 2025–2026 performance provides additional capacity for Canadian agricultural producers and exporters to move their products efficiently.
The railway’s network also gives shippers access to multiple markets across North America. This network reach can be particularly valuable for customers seeking flexibility in determining where their products are ultimately delivered.
By continuing to invest in infrastructure and operations, CPKC aims to ensure that its network can accommodate future increases in grain transportation demand.
North American Network Provides Additional Market Access
Looking toward the 2026–2027 crop year, CPKC plans to build on the momentum generated during the record-setting year.
The company said it will continue leveraging the strength of its North American network to support customers while providing expanded route options and market access for Canadian grain shippers.
CPKC operates a broad rail network connecting Canada, the United States, and Mexico. This geographic reach gives the railway an opportunity to provide grain customers with transportation options extending beyond Canadian destinations.
Expanded route options can help shippers respond to changing market conditions and customer requirements. They can also provide greater flexibility when determining how and where commodities are transported.
For agricultural customers, network flexibility is increasingly important as global trade patterns, commodity demand, port conditions, and transportation requirements evolve.
2026–2027 Grain Service Outlook
As the new crop year begins, CPKC is preparing to maintain its focus on safe and reliable grain transportation.
On July 31, the railway released its 2026–2027 Grain Service Outlook Report, outlining its approach to serving grain customers during the upcoming crop year.
The outlook is intended to provide customers with greater visibility into CPKC’s plans for grain transportation and its commitment to service performance.
Following the record achieved during the previous crop year, expectations will remain high for CPKC to maintain reliable service as customers prepare to move another year of agricultural production.
The company’s strategy includes continuing to leverage its network, infrastructure, equipment, and operational capabilities to provide dependable transportation for grain shippers.
Capacity Growth and Long-Term Supply Chain Development
The 2025–2026 record also illustrates the importance of long-term capacity planning.
Canada’s agricultural industry continues to depend on a transportation system capable of moving large quantities of commodities efficiently. As agricultural production increases and international demand changes, railways and other supply-chain participants must ensure that infrastructure can keep pace.
CPKC’s reference to 8,500-foot-capable elevators illustrates one aspect of this broader capacity development.
Longer trains can provide greater transportation efficiency, but their successful operation depends on infrastructure throughout the supply chain. Elevators must be able to receive and load longer trains, railway infrastructure must accommodate them, and destination terminals must have sufficient capacity to handle the resulting volumes.
Coordinated investment can therefore generate benefits across the entire transportation network.
CPKC said that investments made by its customers, combined with the railway’s own investments in infrastructure, assets, and operations, are helping unlock additional capacity for Canadian agriculture.
Focus on Safety and Reliability
While increasing transportation volumes is important, CPKC continues to emphasize safety and reliability as key elements of its grain service.
Agricultural commodities must often be transported under demanding seasonal conditions. Efficient transportation therefore requires strong operational planning and coordination.
CPKC has emphasized that the record was achieved while maintaining a focus on the safe movement of grain and grain products.
For agricultural shippers, reliable service can be as important as transportation capacity. Delays can affect inventory management, terminal operations, export schedules, and market access.
Maintaining dependable rail service helps customers plan their logistics operations with greater confidence.
Looking Ahead to the 2026–2027 Crop Year
The record 30.66 million metric tonnes transported during the 2025–2026 crop year establishes a new benchmark for CPKC’s Canadian grain operations.
The figure surpassed the previous record by approximately 72,500 metric tonnes and represented significant growth over both the previous crop year and longer-term averages.
An 11 percent year-over-year increase, combined with performance 16 percent above the three-year average and 20 percent above the five-year average, highlights the scale of the achievement.
The railway’s quarterly and monthly records further demonstrate the consistency of its performance throughout the year.
As CPKC enters the 2026–2027 crop year, the company intends to build on this performance through continued investment and close cooperation with customers and terminal operators.
The railway’s North American network, expanded route options, and continued infrastructure development are expected to support Canadian grain shippers as they seek reliable access to domestic and international markets.
The company’s 2026–2027 Grain Service Outlook Report provides an indication of its commitment to maintaining strong service during the upcoming crop year.
For Canadian agriculture, the ability to move grain efficiently is a critical part of remaining competitive in global markets. CPKC’s latest record demonstrates how rail infrastructure, customer investment, terminal capacity, and coordinated operations can work together to support the movement of record agricultural volumes.
As the new crop year progresses, the focus will shift from achieving a record to sustaining the capacity and reliability required for future growth. With continued investment across its network and the broader grain supply chain, CPKC aims to remain a key transportation partner for Canadian agriculture while supporting the safe, efficient, and dependable movement of grain across North America.
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