Survey Says: Shippers not too impressed with rail service

OTTAWA — Canada’s two largest railways are a bit off track when it comes to keeping shippers happy, reveals a survey commissioned by the federal government.

The survey, conducted by NRG Research Group as one part of Transport Canada’s Rail Freight Service Review, found that only 17 percent of rail shippers were generally satisfied with the level of service the railways provide.

Just over 260 shippers were interviewed. About 35 percent of them gave scores that classify as dissatisfaction and 45 percent say their satisfaction level had deceased over the past three years.

A significant number of customers — 62 percent — said they have "suffered a serious financial impact as a result of poor rail freight service."

Respondents said their dissatisfaction was based mainly on time delivery of cars at origin and destination, timely pick-up of empty cars after unloading, reliability of car supply, consistent transit times and responsive of railways to the problems reported by customers.

Over half of the shippers said they believe that there "are no or very few measures in place to hold railways to account for their customer service performance."

Between the two major railways, the shippers indicated that CN as the quicker and more efficient operation, but those who use both railways were more satisfied with CP’s service by a two-to-one margin.

(The entire survey can be viewed by clicking here). 

The next phase of the Rail Freight Service Review involves measuring the intermodal trucking industry’s satisfaction with their rail partners.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance is currently surveying members for a report it will submit to Transport Canada.