Canadian Pacific says it's well-positioned and ready to move this year's western Canadian grain crop to market.

The crop is expected to be significantly bigger than the five-year average,

In a release, CP says it's calling on all supply chain partners to work collaboratively to continue moving record amounts of grain, as it did during 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 crop-years.    

"To ensure success during this crop-year, the broader supply chain must work together to collectively harness our energy so that the entire Canadian economy can reap the maximum benefit," said E. Hunter Harrison, CP's Chief Executive Officer. "We have been preparing for this crop year for months and we are ready."

The rail supply chain has returned to normal since the extraordinary crop and winter of 2013-14. CP says this means there is now excess capacity in the supply chain, including thousands of rail cars in storage ready to move the latest crop.

Grain is CP's largest line of business. Grain movement for the 2015-16 crop year was flat relative to 2014-15, 4.7 percent higher than our three-year average and 11.6 percent above our five-year average.

CP has also sent a letter to the federal ministers of transportation and agriculture outlining preparation for the crop year and calling for supply chain collaboration. It can be downloaded at www.cpr.ca/grain.