Canadian National RailwayCNI has achieved a new quarterly record for grain movement for the third quarter of 2026. The company moved 7.94 million metric tonnes (MMT) of grain from Western Canada in its third quarter, exceeding the previous record of 7.48 MMT set in 2020.
The solid performance underscores sustained customer demand, strong coordination across the grain supply chain and effective execution of CNI’s operating strategy. CNI remains committed to carrying this momentum into winter by providing safe, dependable and efficient services to grain producers, companies and supply chain partners.
In addition, CNI recently unveiled its 2026–2027 Winter Plan, wherein the company reflects on the actions, investments and technologies it plans to implement in its railway operations to perform efficiently during the upcoming winter months. The 2026–2027 Winter Plan has been built on the positive combination of network fluidity, equipment reliability and assurance of maintaining the right set of equipped people and resources, as and when needed during extreme weather conditions affecting the network. The overall aim of this year's Winter Plan is to promote safe working conditions, meet customer demands, improve network performance and enhance network resilience.
Apart from CNI, another railroad company that has reported grain movement for the third quarter is Canadian Pacific Kansas City CP. CP’s record grain volumes in September and the third quarter highlight the strength and efficiency of its North American grain transportation operations. CP moved 2.94 million metric tons in Canada and 2.51 million metric tons in the United States during September, demonstrating its ability to handle significant volumes during a critical period of the crop year.
Both Canada and the United States set new third-quarter records, reflecting strong grain movement and the importance of reliable rail transportation in connecting producers and grain customers with domestic and international markets. Surpassing the previous records set in 2020 further underscores CP’s strong performance.
CNI Zacks Rank & Share Price Performance
Currently, CNI carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
CNI’s shares have gained 17.4% so far this year compared with the Transportation - Rail industry’s 18.1% growth.
CNI Stock’s YTD Price Comparison
A Stock to Consider
Investors interested in the Zacks Transportation sector may consider a better-ranked stock like Herc Holdings HRI.
Herc Holdings currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
HRI has a negative expected earnings growth rate of 8.4% for the current year. However, the company has an encouraging earnings surprise history. Its earnings topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average beat of 60.64%.
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Canadian National Railway Company (CNI): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).