First, when the port of Thunder Bay closes in December, there is no doubt that all western grain must then be moved to either Vancouver or Prince Rupert. This is the challenge we face.
Second, with respect to supply chain capacity, we estimated that the number of cars that CN could move was 5,500 during normal periods and 4,000 during the worst weeks of winter. For us, the challenge is that there is much more demand than cars. Last week, for example, we were asked for 8,000, but we delivered 7,200. In this case, the demand was clearly greater than the number of cars available. In other words, demand was higher than network capacity. One reason for this is that it is very cyclical. From week to week, the number of cars that will be ordered for grain may vary. We need to manage this and ensure that cars are allocated to everyone so that they can empty their elevators and transport their goods.
To answer your question, our biggest challenge is managing the situation when there is more demand than cars available in the CN and CP network. When we have a difficult week, we have to catch up as quickly as possible. However, it is impossible to spread a weekly delay of 7,000 cars over 50 weeks and have enough cars to move the grain. The challenge for us is to estimate needs, determine where the grain is and move it quickly, so that the supply chain is as efficient as possible.