The statistics of 2013 speak for themselves — record grain output in the Canadian Prairies of 76 million mt and record crude-by-rail (CBR) loadings from neighboring Alberta and Saskatchewan of 250,000 b/d. And with Canadian oil sands production continuing to rise, there’s a growing concern over the possibility of a standoff between the grain and oil industries for rail space and locomotives. Adding to that concern is the fact that last year neither the number of grain hoppers nor the tank cars being hauled by Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railway increased significantly to keep pace with the unprecedented demand to move both commodities from interior regions to consuming markets. But while there are no new hoppers to be delivered over the short term, the order books of tank car manufacturers are bulging with 40,000 additional cars due to be delivered by late 2015 to carry more crude from […]