The Montreal Port Authority estimates it will take three to four more weeks to clear a container backlog left behind by a series of recent strikes. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.
Eastern Canadian ports are still digging out of a cargo backlog caused by a month-long series of strikes at the Port of Montreal that spurred cargo diversions to Saint John and Halifax. Montreal stakeholders say it will be several weeks before normal cargo flow returns.
Although Montreal employers and longshore employers struck a tentative truce Aug. 21, a dislocation of railcars, exacerbated by railroads serving a surge of imports at Western Canadian ports, and constrained marine terminal space in Eastern Canada has slowed the ability of marine terminals to clear the backlog. Montreal had a 11,500-container backlog to clear when the strike ended nearly three weeks ago.
The Montreal Port Authority estimates it will take three to four more weeks to clear the backlog. Trucking flow at the port is back to near normal, but rail operations are hampered by managing cargo diverted to Halifax and Saint John, port spokesperson Mélanie Nadeau told JOC.com.
“As long as there is a backlog at Atlantic Canadian ports, the daily rail car exchanges in Montreal will not keep up with the pre-strike flow,” she said. “But the situation is gradually improving.”
Montreal Gateway Terminals (MGT) said it was reasonable to expect a return to normal cargo flow within three to four weeks. Michael Fratianni, chief financial officer at the terminal operator, said some major shippers and forwarders are shifting container transport from rail to truck delivery to reach Toronto faster, and MGT is in discussions with container-on-barge operators on providing short-sea services to Toronto.
“As you could expect after the strike at the Port of Montreal and the current rail situation across Canada, [Termont terminals] are indeed experiencing some backlog and working closely with all our supply chain partners — ocean carriers, railroads and trucking to remediate the situation as quickly as possible. We are keeping our customers informed,” said Termont spokesperson Marie-Chantal Savoy.
Rail dwell times improving at Halifax
In a Sept. 7 notice to customers, Hapag-Lloyd said the limited space at Montreal container terminals prohibited terminal operators from using a first-in-first-out system, and that railcar imbalances by Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways had made supply intermittent. In a statement to JOC.com, Canadian Pacific Railway said its network is fluid and there are enough railcars in position to meet Montreal cargo needs via regular service.
Rail dwell times, or the time it takes to move a container from the marine terminal to the rail ramp, are improving at the Port of Halifax, as marine terminal operators work with Canadian National Railway and container lines to clear the backlog. For example, rail dwell times at the South End Terminal, operated by PSA International, had fallen to four days in the week ending Sept. 4, compared with the prior week’s average dwell time of 4.8 days.
Regular container services are being given priority over diverted ship calls, and terminals are handling the former normally or near normal, Lane Farguson, Halifax port authority spokesperson, told JOC.com. The port’s rail dwell time calculations encompass regular and diverted cargo.
At the Port of Saint John, DP World expects a resumption of regular cargo flow within three weeks, said Curtis Doiron, general manager. The port handled its last diverted vessel from Montreal on Sunday and CP is advancing those shipments through the supply chain, said railroad spokesperson Andy Cummings.
Contact Mark Szakonyi at mark.szakonyi@ihsmarkit.com and follow him on Twitter: @MarkSzakonyi.
"flow" - Google News
September 11, 2020 at 01:10AM
https://ift.tt/2ZtPA19
International-Ports: Eastern Canada port backlog easing; normal flow weeks away - JOC.com
"flow" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Sw6Z5O
https://ift.tt/2zNW3tO
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "International-Ports: Eastern Canada port backlog easing; normal flow weeks away - JOC.com"
Post a Comment