PRO CEE J IN S- Twenty-fourth Annual Meeting

Theme: "Transportation Management, Policy and Technology"

November 2-5, 1983 Marriott Crystal City Hotel Marriott Crystal Gateway Hotel Arlington, VA

Volume XXIV • Number 1 1983

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TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH FORUM 66 The Grain Industry's Requirements for Rail Capacity by A. D. McLeod°

ABSTRACT tent was to encourage settlement of the western plains as rapidly as possible. HIS PAPER describes the develop- This would create in-bound traffic of set- T ment and the interrelationship of tlers' effect and supplies. When settle- the railway and the grain handling sys- ment had been completed, there would be tem in Western Canada.' It describes grain and other farm products for the some of the distinctive characteristics railway to haul, and the hinterland econ- and needs of the grain industry relative omy would provide a ready-made market to transportation. It deals with .future for the manufactured products of the requirements in terms of volume of infant, tariff-protected industry in Cen- products to be moved and suggests some tral Canada. A further objective for con- of the areas where change and improve- struction of the transcontinental rail- ment is needed to achieve an effective way was to cut off any potential north- and efficient movement of product from ward penetration of U.S.A. railroads the Prairies to export ports. into the area west of the Great Lakes. When completed, the CPR main line INTRODUCTION would provide an effective barrier close to the 49th parallel of latitude. The CPR For nearly 100 years , the fortunes and the federal government shared in (and misfortunes) of the grain industry these objectives, and they shared the ef- and. the railroads have been tied closely forts to attract settlers from Europe, together. I want to deal first with some U.S.A. and Ontario. of the historical developments and rela- By the year 1900, the Province of tionships, and then move on to discuss and the Northwest Territories the present and the future. had a total of 3716 miles of railroad line, and total production of wheat in RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT the west amounted to 136,000 tonnes (or about five million bushels). Railroad development in the 'Prairie During the next few years, railway provinces began with the building of a building and immigration on the prairies line from St. Paul and Chicago to Win- continued at a rapid pace and by 1914 nipeg in 1878. Five.years later, the CPR there were nearly 12,000 miles of rail- line was built north of the Great' Lakes way track in what is now the Prairie to connect Winnipeg with Central Can- Provinces. Between 1900 and the out- ada. In 1882 the construction crews break of World War I, about a million passed through Regina and by 1885, the and a quarter immigrants came to the CPR.transcontinental line was complet- prairies and grain production increased ed to the Pacific coast. Most of the his- accordingly. The wheat crop in 1915 torical records of that period suggest reached nearly 10 million tonnes. the main purpose for constructing that Railroad construction continued at a transcontinental line was to entice Brit- slower pace during the next ten years ish. Columbia to join with Upper and or so, but accelerated again during the Lower Canada and the Atlantic prov- period 1926-30. At the end of that time, inces to form a new Canadian nation the total rail network in the prairies had "stretching from sea to sea." While that been virtually completed. The table be- was certainly a primary objective, there low shows the growth in railway mile- reasons were other supporting comple- age and in rural population in Saskatch- tion of the line. There was a need to ewan from the turn of the century to generate traffic to cover the costs of 1936. I think the trends in the provinces constructing and operating a line which Manitoba and Alberta would be sim- unpopulated of ran through the rock and ilar. bush land north of Lake Superior and then across the empty prairies and Railway Rural through the Rocky Mountains. The in- Year Mileage Population *R esearch Director, Saskatchewan 1901* 962 77,013 Wheat Pool, Regina, Saskatchewan, 1906 1,951 209,301 Canada. 1911 3,121 361,037 RAIL CAPACITY GRAIN REQUIREMENTS 67 1916 5,378 1921 471,538 ELEVATOR SYSTEM 6,296 538,552 DEVELOPMENT • f, 1926 7,267 578,206 1931 2,268 As a result of encouragement 1926 630,880 by th6 8.624 (350,522 railroads, construction of primary ele- vators •and fiat warehouses for grain fc:M iwny milenge is for 1900, population is took place at a rapid rate prior to the turn of the century. By /901 there were. about 400 elevators At the time when railroad and nearly 100 flat building in warehouses on the prairies, with 1,\.'estern7 Canada was most active. total the capacity for about 325,000 tonnes (13 (1=5ectional emphasis was all toward the east. million bushels). Supplies and manufactured goods Even came almost more rapid growth occurred in entirely from Central Can- the ensuing period ada. Markets for and by 1924 the nurn- Canadian grain were ber of elevators had reached 4,203. Primarily in Europe. The construction Be- ;ictivity cause grain delivery was made by team itself moved generally from east and wagon, to west elevators- were. located at and spread out in a fan-shape intervals of only a from the main lines few miles on track, of the CPR, the Ca- and were quite small in terms: of nadian Northern and the Grand today's Trunk standards. 'About 1933, the number cif Pacific railways. For these reasons, it is not elevators reached its peak at '5,746. Ele enterprising that the rail network in vator. numbers the Prairie province have declined •very sub- is shaped somewhat stantially.since that time, but total ,nke a funnel with its narrow stor- rend at age capacity has •increased Until fairly Winnipeg. At the time, this accommo- d9ted a recently. The table below 'Shows change natural directional flow for the in numbers 'of elevators distribution of and in total cal goods coming into the pacity to the present, time. Prairie area and, in reverse, for the as- sembly of grains destined for Thunder IlaY, or livestock &stifled, for Wiflfli- NUMBER ,AND CAPACITY OF Peg. COUNTRY GRAIN ELEVATORS— WESTERN CANADA • bIRECTIONAL SHIFT Number of Total Capacity Year Elevators 'tOnnes) With the passage of time there has been a significant shift in much of that 1914 2,746 rail traffic. In the last 20-25 years, coun- 1924 4,203 3.5 tries in the Pacific Rim have become 1933 5,746 • . 4.8 •;': very important markets for . Canadian 1943 5,537 - 4.8 • • , grain as well as for coal, potash, sul- 1953 5,324 8.0 Phur and other products. New handling 1963 5,178 9.1 facilities have been constructed at Van- 1973 4,383 9.2 ;‘.. couver and Prince Rupert to accommo- 1982 2,934 .1 • 8,1t. date the increased volume of these com- Inodities. When one considers total ELEVATOR morement of grain from SYSTEM the prairies ,••••• to CONSOLIDATION • both export and domestic destinations, approximately 45 per cent now moves There is a widespread misconception through Pacific Coast ports and the re- in some parts, of..Canada that the pri- maining 55 per cent through Thunder mary grain handling system Bay and has not Churchill. changed since the days'' of thd horse: Population growth and industrial de- drawn wagon, that the elevator system velopment in the future are expected to is inefficient and ready, to, collapse. This increase still further the importance of is not borne out by the faets.. Pacific Rim markets for Canadian grain, The most rapid .consolidation ,of fbe and a new grain terminal is under con- elevator system has taken place 'since struction at Prince Rupert to % accommo- about 1971. Older and date low-volume elei this volume. It would lye natural vators are being closed. New for grain ,elevators from Alberta and most of Sas- are less numerous but they .are larger, katchewan to move westward in future have faster handling equiPment to fill this expanding and market but, in space to spot larger numbers of rail some cases, the funnel shape of the rail cars. Some recent experimentation network has does not readily accommodate produced entirely new. designs "which this directional flow. A nunther of fair- have the potential for even substantial faster load- ly back-hauls,, are involved ing operation. , -.. • before the grain reaches a main line The 'following tables show west-bound. the extent of change which Ias-oectirred in the ele- TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH FORUM vatei . system in Western Canada in the grain. The MacPherson Commission, last ten years. which reported in 1961, introduced the There is every indication that num- idea of a subsidy to the railway com- bers of. elevators will continue to de- panies for continued operation of lines cline in an evolutionary fashion. A ma- which did not cover their costs from jor study carried out in 1078-70 by freight revenues. The subsidy, began 13007:-Allen, Hamilton and the Mt later as a general lump sum payment Grop, estimated there would about but was then changed to specific reim- 2,600 elevators in use by 1985. It is ex- bursement for costs on each line tha pected. that grain volume vill continue was determined by the CanadianTrans- to increase, so total storage capacity port Commission to be uneconomic, bth, may remain constant or may increaee. whose continued operation was consid- The study concluded the primary ele- ered to be in the public interest. In late vator. system was not a limiting facter- 1973, the government created a "basic with regard to volume. network" of lines, guaranteed to 2009, consisting of 12,414 miles of prairie liA/L SYSTEM CONSOLIDATION lines. The Hall Commission was established the. peak of railway development in 1974, to examine prairie branch lines therJ were about 19,000 miles of rail- and make recommendations about their way lines. in Western Canada, including continued existence into the future. Hall both. main and branch lines. Shortly af- and his colleagues recommended to the t(4. World War II, the railways began Government of Canada that a further to argue: that they were losing money 1,813 miles of line be placed in the ba- on ttre,, operation of light density rail sic network. They recommended that an lines whose. traffic consisted mostly of additional 2,166 miles be abandoned over

NUMBER OF ELEVATORS Perc,...ntage Company August 1/73 April 1/83 Decrease Decrease Sashatclrewan Wheat Pool 1,528 932 596 39.0' Alberta .Wheat Pool 856 566 290 33.9 United Grain, Growers 759 495 264 34.8 Pioneer Grain., 449 353 96 21.4 Manitoba Pool Elevators 323 192 131 40.6 Cargill 239 155 134 46.4 Patterson 92 77 15 16.3 Pareish*.& Heimbecker 56 51 5 8.9 Others 31 24 7 22.6 All Companies 4,383 2,845 1,538 35.1

NUMBER OF OPERATING UNITS* 1,026 603 423 41.2 558 336 22.2 40.0 Uni ed Grain.- Growers 533 346 187 35.1 Pion ever Grain 339 238 101 29.8 Manitoba Pool Elevators 239 166 73 30.5 Cargill 222 137 85 38.3 Pat'. erson 79 60 19 24.1 Parrish. & Ifeimbecker 51 47 4 7.8 Others 26 22 4 15.4

All Companies 3,073 17955 1,118 36.4

At many shipping points, several elevators are managed by one man. As a rule, the best elevator is un:d regularly while the others are used only when necessary. An operating unit is one or more ele- w.ters xnanaged, by one person. RAIL CAPACITY GRAIN REQUIREMENTS 69

a scheduled period, and that further For the purposes of this paper, I will study be given to an intermediate group use a set of volume figures produced by of lines totalling 2,344 miles. the Western Transportation Advisory The government, not satisfied to Council, based on consultations with a leave uncertain the intermediate group variety of council members who are of lines, appointed the Prairie Rail Ac- shippers of bulk products. The table tion Committee which, in turn, recom- below sets out actual volumes for the mended abandonment of a further 1,402 calendar year 1982, and WESTAC pro- miles of line. jections for 1990. Final decision on the fate of any par- ticular branch line depends on the de- cision of the Canadian WESTBOUND BULK Transport Com- EXPORT TONNAGE mission which typically holds a public hearing to assess the views of all inter- Actual-1982 Projected-1990 ested parties. Million Million As a result of the activities of the Tonnes % Tonnes % Hall Commission, the Prairie Rail Ac- tion Committee and the Canadian Trans- Coal 15.7 46 53.3 60 Port Commission, authorization has Grain 11.2 32 19.0 22 been given to date to abandon a total Sulphur 5.0 14 6.8 8 of 2,435 miles of rail line in Western Potash 2.6 8 9.0 10 Canada. This is approximately 13 per cent of the basic network mileage of Total 34.5 100 88.1 100 main lines in the area. At this date, a small number of hearings are still to be I should note in passing that these held and decisions are pending on a few estimates were made in 1981, before the additional lines (843 miles). recession. Some of the figures look high in light of today's conditions, but may appropriate PROJECTED VOLUME still be for 1990. OF RAIL TRAFFIC It will be noted that the 1990 project- ed volume for all products combined is A great deal of attention has been about two and a half times the actual focused, in recent years, on the project- volume moved in 1982. While the last ed volume of movement of bulk products couple of years have adequately demon- from this area of Canada to the Pacific strated the hazard of making long-term Coast. Various individuals and agencies projections, I don't think many would have producod varying numbers for dif- quarrel with the general conclusions ferent lengths of time into the future. that we are looking forward to sub-

LICENSED STORAGE CAPACITY Percentage Company August 1/73 April 1/83 Decrease Decrease 000 tonnes Saskatchewan Wheat Pool 3,225 2,271 954 30.0 Alberta Wheat Pool 2,158 1,742 416 19.3 1,804 1,407 397 22.0 Pioneer Grain 1,160 1,002 158 13.7 Manitoba Pool Elevators 760 608 152 20.0 Cargill 637 463 174 27.2 Patterson 247 234 13 5.2 Parrish & Heimbecker 218 244 (26) (11.9) Others 94 112 (18) (18.9) All Companies 10,303 8,083 2,220 21.6 Total Grain Handled 21,300 28,556 (1973-74) (1981-82)

It will be noted that the amount of grain handled has increased markedly, at the same time that num- bers and capacity of elevators have declined. Since a large proportion of elevator costs are fixed costs, the result is a substantial improvement in efficiency. 70 TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH FORUM stantially larger volumes of total move- SYSTEM COSTS VS. ment. Coal is expected to become even COMPONENT COSTS more dominant, accounting for 60 per cent of the four-commodity total in 1990, When we are considering the inter- compared with 42 per cent in 1980 and face between various participants in 31 per cent in 1970. 'WESTAC antici- grain handling and transportation, it is pates that grain will increase in actual important to keep in mind the cost of volume but decrease in relative terms, the total movement, from the farm gate to 22 per cent in 1990, compared with to the hold of the ship. It is unfortunate, 30 per cent in 1980 and 44 per cent in but quite understandable, that each par- 1970. ticipant in the system tends to be con- and In recent cerned primarily with the activities years, the railways have in- costs which affect him most directly. For dicated it will be impossible for them to grain handle these example, some people believe that projected volumes of traf- should be moved in unit trains, from a fic without very substantial expenditures maximum capital few origin points, to achieve for improvements, equipment and railway efficiency. They are less con- rolling stock. It is natural that shippers cerned with the costs involved in getting of all the major bulk products are con- col- cerned the grain from farms to those few that their export opportunities lection points. The federal government should not be hampered by inadequate is concerned with the escalating cost of rail capacity. its subsidy and rail rehabilitation pro- grams, and anxious to place a ceiling on GRAIN SHIPPERS REQUIREMENTS its financial input to the system. Ele- vator companies are concerned that a I want to discuss briefly today the re- drastic consolidation will make obsolete quirements of grain shippers for rail a great deal of their large investment in capacity in the years ahead. These re- facilities, and will require huge amounts quirements must include two distinct of new capital to build new and central-. geographic areas, the prairie area on the ized primary elevator facilities. Farm- one hand and the mountains and ports ers, and those elevator firms that are on the other. owned by farmers, want to avoid the higher costs and greater involvement of There are certain basic "facts of life" time required if they had to haul greatly about the movement of grain by rail. increased distances to large centralized The first of these is that grain is grown collection points. They tend to be less and marketed by about 150,000 produc- concerned about the magnitude of gov- cers occupying some 130 million acres of ernment expenditure required for branch land in four provinces. Grain is not a line rehabilitation, or the balance sheets homogeneous product like sulphur, pot- of the railways. ash or coal. What is needed is to establish, in some Grain includes wheat, barley, canola, way, a mechanism which will encourage oats, flax, rye. Some types of grain are all system, participants to work toward used for human foods and some for live- a common purpose of system improve- stock feeds. The flour miller in Japan ment. At present, it is too often the case will not accept durum wheat for bread that a system improvement costs money, making and he will not accept just any but the benefit of the improvement does grade of bread wheat. Thus, we must not accrue to the party which incurred have a system which separates parcels the expenditure. For example, a couple of grain into grades which indicate their of years ago, there was discussion of quality for the intended end use. pooling of shipments of canola arriving protected at Vancouver. An explanation may be in Grain must be from the order for those unfamiliar grain weather and from insect infestation to with of marketing. Ordinarily, when a carload preserve its quality. Most our custom- of canola is shipped from a primary ele- ers have seasonal requirements for grain vator on the prairies, it is consigned to and are not able to take uniform and Canada a specific port terminal elevator, usually regular shipments from over the one owned by the same company. This course of the year. involves switching by the railway to These "facts of life" must be taken take that specific car to that specific ter- into account by anyone who is consider- minal. Under a system of pooling, any ing • the future transportation require- car of canola, regardless of origin, may ments of the grain industry. Too often be delivered to any terminal which has in tlre past, they have been ignored b space, regardless of ownership. An ex- some of the technicians who have pro- change of documents is used to balance posed drastically different systems mod- the ownership and the stocks. There is elled on the movement of coal or potash. an obvious gain to the railroads in re- RAIL CAPACITY GRAIN REQUIREMENTS 71

duced switching, but an expense to the portion of shipments going through Pa- grain terminals in extra accounting cific ports, and a considerable reduction costs. if not total disappearance, of our feed Branch line rehabilitation presents grain markets in central Canada and another example. The federal govern- the Maritime provinces. ment has a policy of paying for the re- habilitation of branch lines which are in the so-called "permanent network." 2. Assembly points The cost of this rehabilitation varies, but is in the order of about $300,000 per As I mentioned earlier, we have seen mile of track. Thus, a 50-mile line could in the last ten years or so, a reduction of require rehabilitation expenditure of 36 per cent in the number of prairie op- $15 million, or an annual cost (based erating units at which grain is assem- on ten per cent interest rate) of $1.5 bled. It is clear that this downward million. If the amount of grain delivered trend will continue, but the rate of de- to that line is equivalent to 30,000 bush- cline and the eventual number of points els per mile of track, then the interest depends greatly on the new transpor- cost alone of the rehabilitation program tation legislation which, at the time of is equivalent to $1.00 per bushel. The writing, is anticipated momentarily. One federal government finds this level of section of that legislation would permit cost unacceptable, but farmers and ele- the railways, with the approval of the vator companies tend to be less con- Canadian Transport Commission, to of- cerned since the funding conies from the fer reduced freight rates at individual federal government. The alternative to points, or for certain conditions. A sim- rehabilitation is abandonment, which ilar type of rate adjustment freedom has Would reduce government expenditure existed in the United States for several but increase costs to farmers. years. The result in the northern plains Most sy st em improvements and states has been a clustering of large ele- changes which have been contemplated vators at a few widely scattered loca- involve similar problems of expense ac- tions, the disappearance of many branch cruing to one participant while gains line elevators, and a very substantial in- accrue to others. There is an urgent crease in hauling distance for many need for some mechanism which will farmers. If the legislation is passed in make possible an impartial and realistic its present form, I expect we will see a assessment of costs and gains, and then similar development in Canada. some formula for sharing both the costs and the system benefits. 3. Elevator car spots

FUTURE REQUIREMENTS The term "car spot" means the num- ber of rail cars that can be placed on Now I want to turn to a discussion of the loading track the which adjoins a pri- transportation requirements of mary elevator. Traditionally, elevators grain shippers in the years ahead to the were built side by side end along the track, of this century. Because of the un- on sites leased from the railway. In the• certainty involved in a time frame of days of frequent scheduled train service, that length, I think it wise to avoid spe- there was no need cific to accommodate more numbers and to concentrate on than two or three cars at an elevator at trends. any one time. Today, trains are less fre- quent and the railways would prefer to 1. Volume spot larger numbers of cars to reduce their switching activity. The disappear- Most analysts are agreed that we can ance of some elevators through consoli- expect further increases in volume in dation has improved the situation in the years ahead. Canadian grain exports some cases. Elevator companies now pay in the last crop year were 27 million more attention to obtaining larger sites, tonnes, an increase of 34 per cent from even to the extent of purchasing their five years ago. The Canadian Wheat own land for a private spur. In certain Board estimates that there is market instances, it seems there is a conflict of Potential for exports of 30 million tonnes interest within the railway, between the by 1985 and 36 million by 1990. The operations people who want to spot more growth in world population, if it is ac- cars at a time, and the real estate de- companied by real purchasing power, partment which is interested in having should assure further substantial in- as many leases as possible for any given creases in the 1990s. The geographic dis- length of track. Maybe this will change tribution of our grain markets would in the new environment of compensa- suggest a further increase in the pro- tory rates for grain. 72 TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH FORUM

4. Branch line network equivalent to an additional 633 hopper cars. The consultants recommended that Grain shippers are concerned that a accomplish concerted efforts be made to fi reasonable network of main and branch at least part of the apparent potential lines will remain in place in Western for time saving. I think it should be po.s- cl Canada, and that the lines will be ade- .m sible to make very significant gains tE quately maintained for year-round oper- efficiency in this area, but it will require ation. This does not mean that every willingness and attention from a number mile of branch line which now exists of participants in the industry. must remain forever. It does mean, how- ever, that farmers should be able to de- liver grain in their own trucks, to a 7. Port capacity A point on rail, without undue hardship because of distance. An Anyone who has studied the rail sYs- average distance to for the prairies of about 15 miles one tern in and around Vancouver tends CC way, with a maximum of about 25 miles, become pessimistic about the future. of would be reasonably acceptable. The Ca- There are five railway companies mov- nadian Transport Commission, in its ex- ing a large variety of products in a ar amination of heavily populated area with many geo- abandonment applications, the takes into account the alternate delivery graphic and topographic barriers. In to distance which would be involved if the case of grain, some terminals are lo- line were abandoned. cated on the North Shore and some on Cr the South Shore of the Second Narrows. Pr There are single track bridges, a tunnel, Pe 5. Main line capacity main yards, secondary yards and inter- fit terminals are Shippers of grain, like those of other change yards. Some equipped to specialize in certain types co products, are anxious that main line ca- types. pacity for both railroads will be of grain, while others handle all gr Problems seem to occur with disconcert- to accommodate the expectedexpanded in- effors crease in traffic volumes. It seems evi- ing frequency. Despite the best of the resident Grain Co-ordinator, it is fa, dent that the east-bound main lines al- for ready have sufficient capacity to handle often difficult to pin-point the causes delay. Railway officials have been known Po future volumes, without major capital sy expenditure. However, the capacity of to complain about terminal operators, citing the number of loaded cars which an main lines west-bound from Calgary and Ter- Edmonton is another matter. I do not were in Vancouver at any one time. minal operators retort that they can un- Ca: intend to discuss this area in detail at since I expect Mr. Pike of CP Rail to load only those cars which are on-site Wc do so in his presentation. Grade reduc- their terminals. It seems that each party fai tracking, is referring to a different set of num- tie tions, tunnels, double improved different signals, and sidings all have a contri- bers or to numbers of cars in an bution to make to capacity expansion. locations, and therefore drawing differ- tie Many of these projects are already un- ent conclusions about the real nature of Try der construction and others are in the the problem. Complications such as snow Te planning phase. If there is an early slides, storms or delayed ship arrivals 191 turn-around in the Canadian economy, it arise from time to time, but are beyond fir; will require diligent effort to complete the control of either party. As in some diE the required projects by the time they other areas of grain transportation and are needed. handling, the problem has been studied to death, but little has been accom- parties cycle plished. It seems the various 6. Car would rather shout accusations at each A car cycle is the time required for a other from a distance than to search to- car to be loaded, moved to destination, gether for solutions. unloaded and returned to an origin point Several years ago the grain industry, ready for the next load. Consultants at the urging of the Canadian Wheat Booz-Allen, Hamilton and the Board and the Government of Alberta, Group, in a study completed in 1979, concluded that expansion was required made a careful examination of car cycles elsewhere than at Vancouver, to accom- and the potential for improvement. They modate future volume of exports to Pa- calculated the average car cycle, over- cific Rim markets. The grain industry, all, for grain cars on the two railways through a consortium, purchased a small at that time to be 16-18 days. There government terminal elevator at Prince were, of course, variations for different Rupert, and immediately began plan- port locations and various origins. They ning for further growth. Construction is calculated that if the average car cycle now under way on a large new terminal could be reduced by one day, it would be at Ridley Island just south of Prince RAIL CAPACITY GRAIN REQUIREMENTS 73

Rupert. It will be completed in late 1084 Group functioned successfully for sev- and will handle large volumes of grain eral years and was able to develop the from northern Alberta and Saskatch- block shipping system and several other ewan. It is important that some inter- improvements. It depended on persua- change arrangement be made, so the sion rather than coersion to brinr, about terminal can handle grain originating at change. It was able to submerge the in- Points on Canadian Pacific as well as dividual rivalries of the participants and Canadian National lines. to develop a feeling of effective team- work for the mutual benefit of the en- NEED FOR UNDERSTANDING tire industry. AND CO-OPERATION In the intervening years, a number of I think it will be clear other mechanisms have been tried. Some from the pre- have ceding section that there are a number been large and unwieldy, meeting of areas in which grain only briefly and infrequently to deal shippers would with like to see improvements in efficiency, specific problems of an immediate and expansion in the overall handling nature. Others have been set up and im- and transportation capacity posed by government on the industry. of the sys- There has tem for grain. Some of this increased been a tendency for each par- capacity will come about through ticipant in the industry to look out for gen- its own eral projects (such as main line im- interests first. The environment Provements and tunnels), in which ship- has resembled that among the individ- Pers of all products will share the bene- uals in a poker game rather than the fits. In other cases members of a football team with a com- there are improve- mon inents which require the attention and objective. co-operation of the railroads and the Unfortunately, the situation relative grain handling firms which load and un- to transportation in the last few years load the cars. has tended to foster antagonism and di- There is need for some mechanism to vergence of views, rather than the facilitate serious examination of alter- search for common ground on which im- natives and to push forward those pro- provements could be constructed. Such Posals which would bring about true an environment is likely to continue as System improvements. The ideal mech- long as there is uncertainty about the 9•nisai would be one set up within the legislative framework for grain trans- industry itself, representing shippers, portation and freight rates. Time alone carriers and the marketing agencies. It will tell whether the new legislation, in Would need a mandate to examine all whatever form it may take, will result facets of the system. The group would in a continuation of the present antag- need to be small enough to be effective onisms and divergence. It is to be hoped and would need the confidence of all par- that the various participants in the in- ticipants in the industry. It could be dustry will find it possible to work con- modelled on the Grain Transportation structively toward the introduction of Technical Group which was formed in system changes and improvements which 1968, with representation from grain will benefit the total system, without im- firms, the railways, Wheat Board, Cana- posing undue burdens and costs on any dian Grain Commission. The Technical one segment of the industry.