Canada rail congestion 12/07/22

Below are the latest updates from Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) as announced by CIFFA on 4 July 2022.

CN Rail:

Due to congestion in Toronto, CN is metering the number of Toronto releases from Prince Rupert to ensure they do not gridlock its facilities. Current average dwell for Toronto-destined containers is 16 days and some containers are  sitting for more than 25 days. There is a push-on to load the longest-dwelling containers.

CP Rail:

Due to congestion in Toronto, CP is metering the amount of Toronto volume released per day from Centerm. Current average dwell for Toronto-destined containers is 6 days. Current average dwell for Montreal-destined containers is 14 days. However, there are 80 containers that have been sitting for more than 25 days. There is a push-on to load the longest-dwelling containers. CP Montreal - Waiting time is over 4 -7 hrs at CP terminal, and there are regular gate closures with only one gate being opened which causes huge lines at the terminal.

Truck:

Wait times at both the CN and CP rails have improved, but volume continues to arrive in Toronto and Montreal at high levels. There are fewer drivers in all cities to handle the volume, creating a backlog/congestion issue. On a YTD basis, total truck visits declined by 18.5%. Containers are being targeted based on the longest dwell.

• Current CN dwell: 11 days
• Current CP dwell: 12 days

Source: Shipco