CN Marks Record December, Annual Grain Movement

Canadian National Railway set a new benchmark for grain movement in December, capping off a record-breaking year.  

The railway said Friday it moved more than 2.82 million tonnes of grain from Western Canada in December, marking its fourth consecutive monthly record and surpassing the previous December high set in 2020 by more than 80,000 tonnes. 

The strong December performance also helped CN establish a new annual record for grain shipments in 2025. In Western Canada alone, CN moved over 31.3 million tonnes of grain during the year, exceeding the previous record of 30.9 million set in 2020. Across all of Canada, total grain volumes across CN’s network reached more than 32.7 million tonnes, breaking the prior record of 32.25 million established in 2024. 

CN attributed the record volumes to a combination of large Canadian grain crops and steady execution throughout the supply chain.  

Janet Drysdale, CN’s executive vice-president and chief commercial officer, said consistent operations and close collaboration with farmers, grain companies and export terminals were key to moving the unprecedented volumes to market.