Numerous wild fires which are active across the province of British Columbia have severely impacted rail movement from and to Vancouver. These railway issues are also affecting terminal operations at the port of Vancouver, causing increased vessel delays and reduced ability for vessel berthing. CN and CP rail are working closely with Transport Canada and onsite inspectors to resume safe operation.
CP Rail’s mainline outage in British Columbia near Lytton is now cleared, however the backlog is significant. Delays are anticipated between 72 to 96 hours from resumption of service. It is anticipated that CN Rail will take a few more days to resume service. In the meantime, CP and CN will share the one rail line for both Westbound and Eastbound trains. The port of Vancouver is also working closely with the terminal operators, railways and government to develop a recovery plan.
Please find further updates below on North American ports, rail and intermodal services (as per Hapag Lloyd’s Customer NEWS update):
Canadian Terminal and Rail Delays Update
Terminals: Vancouver, Prince Rupert:
High yard utilization at all terminals in Vancouver as a result of increased import volumes. Expected to last well into Q3. Vessels calling Vancouver are experiencing delays, resulting in increased vessel dwell time. Prince Rupert berth and yard productivity are stable. No delays to vessel berthing.
Terminals: Montreal
All terminals are experiencing a shortage of labor, resulting in delays to ship schedules. This is expecting to continue throughout the summer months.
USA Terminal Operations:
LAX/LGB Terminal Update:
There are currently 19 ships (+10) at anchor awaiting berths in LAX/LGB as of Friday, July 2nd. All terminals are extremely congested due to the spike in import volumes and based on current projections the congestion is expected to last until through the summer.
Changes of destination (COD’s) and container "dig outs" are restricted due to lack of terminal space and customers are urged to continue to expedite the pickup of their import containers and inform any COD requests at least four working days before the start of vessel operations. The demand for available labor while improving, still affects all terminal operations, turnaround time for truckers, inter terminal transfers, the number of daily appointments available for gate transactions and delays in vessel operations.
The LAX/LGB rail operations from all terminals continue to deteriorate due lack of rail capacity and railcars from the UP rail. This is affecting all on/off dock intermodal moves. Skilled Labor Training ongoing in LA/LB resulting in steady improvements in availability.
Oakland Terminal Update:
Currently there are 18 ships (-8) at anchor or drifting in the San Francisco Bay area as of July 2nd. The three new shore cranes and berth are now fully operational at OICT (Oakland International Container Terminal). Massive import volumes combined with labor shortages are the biggest drivers of continued congestion and vessel operations delays. The Port of Oakland has had three consecutive months of import gains, setting a new record in May surpassing over 100,000 TEUs.
Export receiving windows are shrinking from 4 to 3 days in some cases to assist with volume on terminal. Alternative gate hours continue to have low trucker participation. Vessels will be delayed in order to decrease terminal dwell, make room for incoming imports and keep terminals fluid as possible. Yard re-handling and re-stows on vessels due to change of rotation and additional empty lift out of LAX/LGB is creating further delays. All berths remain occupied.
New York Terminal Update:
Berth utilization continues to be high through the first week of July, Terminal yard utilization has stabilized but expected to increase this week with all NY terminals, except PNCT (Port Newark Container Terminal), closed on July 5th in observance of the July 4th holiday. Terminal gate turn times are at acceptable service levels, but expected to increase this week due to 4-day work week. Select terminals are opening on Saturdays to facilitate increased import deliveries.
Savannah Terminal Update:
Currently 8 ships at anchor (+4) as of July 2nd. Continue to see delays at berth due to dredging. Dredging continues in berth 2, moving to berth 8 by the weekend. By mid-July all dredging at the berths should be complete. The main gates and rail operations are running fluid. Stacks behind berths 7-8-9 for additional empties is still in progress and should be complete early October. GPA (Georgia Port Authority) is investing in new RTG (mobile) cranes to increase yard capacity in the same terminal footprint.
Intermodal:
Capacity limitation in certain markets due to import volume spikes and severe drivers’ shortage. Please find main markets, and estimate lead-time to secure capacity at the following link on our website. (Note: Lead time refers to timeframe to secure truck power, it is not dwell time):
https://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/services-information/operational-updates/north-america.htmlChassis Pools:
With the recent unprecedented Import volumes, there is currently a historically high demand for chassis throughout the USA. This demand has shown to be persistent on 40ft chassis and intermittent on 20ft chassis. In order to minimize any negative impact on supply chains, customers are asked to take immediate steps to reduce container and chassis off terminal dwell time. This includes all inland terminals as well as port terminals. Without a significant reduction in the dwell times, truckers may face serious challenges and delays in securing good order chassis as long as this surge in imports continues.
- Minneapolis (USMES) – Constrained on 40′ chassis.
- Chicago (USCHI) – Deficit on 40′ chassis.
- Cincinnati (USCVG) – Constrained on 40′ chassis.
- Louisville (USLUI) – Deficit on 40′ chassis.
- Houston (USHOU) – Constrained on 40′ chassis.
- Detroit (USDET) – Deficit on 40′ chassis.
- Indianapolis (USIND) – Constrained on 40′ chassis
- Denver (USDEN) – Constrained on 40′ chassis.
- New York (USNYC) – Deficit on 40′ chassis.
- Seattle (USSEA) – Constrained on 20′ and deficit on 40′ chassis.
- Tacoma (USTIW) – Deficit on 40′ chassis.
- Los Angeles / Long Beach (USLAX/USLGB) – Deficit on 20′ and 40′ chassis.
Railway Operations:
Please Note: Current average dwell times for Hapag-Lloyd boxes at several terminals / ramps. Includes, MH, rail and truck moves.
- New York, NY – Average 5.8 days*
- MMR rail New York – Average 0.8 days
- Long Beach, CA – Average 8.9 days*
- Los Angeles, CA – Average 10.3 days*
- Charleston, SC – Average 6.9 days*
- Savannah, GA – Average 7.1 days*
- Norfolk, VA – Average 5.4 days*
- Kansas City, MO – Average 9.7 days*
- Chicago, IL – Average 8.7 days*
- Memphis, TN – Average 7.9 days*
- Detroit, MI – Average 6.3 days
- Dallas, TX – Average 2.8 days*
- Houston, TX – Average 6.7 days*
With the large number of congested ports and ships awaiting berths, please note that the dates for arrivals / departures and cut-offs for vessels are constantly changing.
For more information, please call Debbie McGuire, Manager – Freight Solutions at (905) 882-4880, ext. 1308.
