CN below, CPKC above grain revenue limits for 2024-25 crop year

The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) on Dec. 19 ruled that CN's revenue was below and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway's (CPKC) was above their respective maximum grain revenue entitlements for the crop year 2024–2025.

CN’s grain revenue of C$1,454,604,793 was C$5,913,453 below its entitlement of C$1,460,518,246. CPKC’s grain revenue of C$1,066,938,687 was C$2,660,250 above its entitlement of C$1,064,278,437.

CPKC now has 30 days to pay the amount by which it exceeded its 2024–2025 revenue entitlement, in addition to a 5% penalty of C$133,012, CTA officials said in a press release. Regulations require the payment to go to the Western Grains Research Foundation.

In the 2024–2025 crop year, 49,002,694 metric tons of western grain were moved, a 12.1% increase in volume compared to the last crop year, which logged 43.7 million metric tons transported. The increase can be attributed to the increase in shipments for both CN and CPKC as compared to last year, CTA officials said.

The Canada Transportation Act requires the CTA to determine each railway company’s annual maximum revenue entitlement and whether each entitlement has been exceeded. The revenue entitlement is a form of economic regulation that enables CN and CPKC to set their rates for services, provided the total amount of revenue collected from their shipments of western grain remains below the ceiling set by the CTA.