Severe weather disrupts rail traffic in Canada, parts of U.S.
Container traffic moving by rail to and from the Port of Vancouver and Montreal is experiencing delays of as much as two or three days due to extreme weather in western Canada that is wreaking havoc with train operations, freight forwarders reported late last week.
The delay doesn’t count additional lost time just waiting to get loaded on a rail car.
Avalanches in mountain passes and temperatures down to -40 Celsius have caused delays, broken tracks and caused locomotive malfunctions, according to a client alert from FedEx Trade Networks. Traffic to the U.S. Midwest is also affected by delays in the Vancouver area.
Recent derailments have forced Canadian Pacific and Canadian National to use shorter trains. Canadian Pacific is not accepting perishable goods or refrigerated containers until service returns to normal.
Expeditors International reports that there were more than 2,500 containers waiting on the dock at one point during the past week and that delays in loading of inbound containers to rail extend beyond 10 days in some cases. The weather, combined with higher than normal volumes as shippers move product in advance of the Chinese New Year lull, has caused a container and rail car shortage in Vancouver, as railroads cannot reposition empty equipment fast enough to keep up with imports.