Vancouver Container Backlog to Last 7-10 Weeks |
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(The Journal of Commerce)
It will take
seven to 10 weeks for Vancouver's Deltaport to clear the backlog of more than 5,000 containers caused by weather and rail-related delays.
"We are encouraged by Canadian National's response to
increase the daily car supply," from 11,000 feet to 15,000 feet, Morley Strachan, vice-president of Deltaport operator TSI Terminal Systems Inc. "Even with that, it's going to take some time to
clear up the backlog," he added. "We think it's going to take seven to 10 weeks."
The terminal operator formally declared force majeure on Tuesday, telling customers it was not liable
for delays in moving boxes because CN was not providing enough rail cars to accommodate the crush of freight arriving from Asia, and China, in particular.
At a meeting called by TSI Wednesday that
brought together ocean carriers, CN and the Vancouver Port Authority, the railroad announced it would provide more intermodal railcars to the terminal. Strachan said "several methodologies were
discussed" for clearing the backlog, but he did not offer details.
Strachan earlier said TSI would propose allocating fixed numbers of rail cars to steamship lines. There also was discussion at
the meeting about long-term measures but "the focus right now is on implementing some constructive procedures to remove the backlog."
Deltaport, with annual capacity of more than 1 million
TEUs, had "reached the point of strangulation" on more volume than the railroad can handle. Canadian National blamed congestion on increased volumes, as well as weather-related delays on its
network and in terminal handling.
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Update on Deltaport Situation
(CIFFA eBulletin)
At the conclusion of yesterday's meeting of stakeholders there was consensus that 'not much can be done' to improve the
situation immediately and that only time will help.
Certainly lip service was given to 'explore other options' but the bottom line is as follows:
1. Having declared 'force majeure' does not
mean that operations have shut down. It means that the terminal will operate at its own pace and will impose whatever measures necessary to keep the terminal as fluid as possible. For example, operations for
some vessels will be delayed because the discharge has to be measured and be in line with the terminal's capacity to accept the containers on the ground. (It does also mean that TSI Terminals have, with one
stroke, removed themselves from any contractual obligations and potential liability due to delays. No doubt, this 'force majeure' declaration (Act of God) could be challenged in Court, but we leave this to
the legal profession!
2. The backlog in containers is at present around 143'000 feet of which 116'000 feet are allocated for CN and 27'000 feet for CP. CN has committed to increasing the rail car
supply to 14/15'000 feet daily. That - contrary to CN's statement that the backlog should be cleared in the very near term - will not make much of a dent and Deltaport expects it will need from 7 - 8 weeks
to clean up the situation! For there were more than 5'000 Container on the ground this Wednesday, which in itself will require some 10 - 15 days to be hauled off with the present rail car supply. And nobody
at CN realizes that there is a steady feed of new vessels arriving!
3. Ships will idle up to 5 shifts depending on the rail car supply, causing further delays throughout the supply chain. (So far, we
have not learned of any port diversions).
In this context we are flabbergasted to learn from a statement by CN that 'it had taken cars out of storage' to help with the situation. What in the world
these cars did 'in storage' is beyond our understanding, yet CN still insists that it is anybody else's shortcomings but their own, including 'productivity issues at TSI, bad weather conditions, increased
volume et al... Would Mr. Hallman, CN's spokesperson, please wake up?
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