CN's report for grain shipping week four shows they moved a total of 424,000 metric tonnes of grain and processed grain products.

David Przednowek, the assistant vice president of grain for CN rail says as the harvest starts coming in they are working closely with grain shippers.

"We see the top end of demand once we get into the last half of September and then we see things run strong from there. This year is going to be interesting because we've seen confirmation of course that grain production is going to be down in Western Canada. That comes as no surprise to anyone listening to this right now given the impact of the dryness across the prairies."

He says keeping track of that demand forecast is key because they'll have to move grain cars out of storage and get them ready to roll. Making sure they are in the right place at the right time and with crews to go with them.

Przednowek adds when it comes to movement right now its also important to remember we still have a very active fire season in BC and northern Alberta.

"Grain shipment week four towards the back end of the week, we saw fires disrupt rail operations in the Fraser Canyon between Kamloops and Vancouver. That's one of the busiest parts of the rail network. There have been active fires on both the CN main line and near the CP main line as well. That's important because that's such a vital artery for traffic and it did halt rail operations in the Fraser Canyon at times during that period."

He says the fire situation is something that is out of anyone's control but affects the supply chain end to end because you can't get empty cars back from the port if you can't get them through the Fraser Canyon and back out to the country.