November 19, 2021 – The provincial state of emergency declared by the British Columbia Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General remains in place. The state of emergency effective November 17, 2021 applies to the entire province of B.C. for an initial 14-day period and may be extended or rescinded as conditions require. The state of emergency enables federal, provincial and local governments to allocate resources and deliver a coordinated response to protect the public. Evacuation orders for multiple communities remain in place in the flood stricken areas. CN and CP crews and engineering teams continue to clear debris and undertake repairs to damaged infrastructure between Kamloops and Vancouver. Although significant progress has been made in restoring multiple rail sections, access to some impacted locations continues to be hampered by safety and logistical challenges. CP advised that barring any unforeseen issues, rail lines could be restored mid-week. Rail operations will resume when it is safe to do so.
November 18, 2021 – Rail lines between Kamloops and Vancouver remain closed as both CN and CP crews and engineering teams continue to clear debris and conduct repairs at multiple locations. A timeline for the resumption of rail operations to the west coast is currently unavailable. Vessel delays and heightened anchorage demand due to disrupted terminal operations are expected. Flooding impacts on highways remain severe and widespread throughout southwestern B.C. The intermittent opening of one highway route allowed some passenger traffic to flow out of the impacted areas towards Vancouver. All highways remain closed to non-essential traffic as work crews continue with reconstruction and repairs. Damage assessments of roadway infrastructure are ongoing. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed on any new developments as they arise.
November 17, 2021 – Until the situation normalizes, Canaan Transport will provide regular updates on the shifting situation. CN and CP main rail corridors are not currently operational between Vancouver and Kamloops due to washouts and landslides. Both CN and CP crews are clearing debris and conducting repairs at multiple sites with progress being made in restoring some impacted rail sections. A timeline for fully restored rail operations to the west coast is currently unavailable. Vessel delays and heightened anchorage demand at the Port of Vancouver due to disrupted terminal operations are expected. Flooding impacts on highways remain severe and widespread throughout southwestern B.C. All main highway routes to the Metro Vancouver area are closed. Resumption of traffic is expected to take two to three days. Damage assessments of roadway infrastructure are ongoing.
November 16, 2021 – All rail service coming to and from the Port of Vancouver is halted because of flooding in the B.C. interior. Both CN and CP Rail indicate that no rail traffic is currently able to transit between Kamloops and Vancouver. Both rail lines are conducting damage assessments of multiple impacted sites and infrastructure threats to establish access and repair activities required. A timeframe for re-opening of the rail lines will be known once damage assessments are complete.
Vessel delays and heightened anchorage demand are expected due to disruptions to terminal operations. We are working closely with our terminal operators, railways, and all levels of government to understand the impacts of these delays on terminal operations and to develop a recovery plan.
Flooding has also caused numerous highway closures due to washouts and landslide debris throughout southwestern B.C., including all main routes to the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley regions. Damage to roadway infrastructure is currently being assessed.
November 16, 2021 – CP is experiencing a track outage on the Cascade subdivision, north of Hope, B.C. CN is also experiencing an outage on the Yale subdivision, near Chilliwack, B.C. Both outages are impacting mainline train operations in those areas and are a result of the massive flooding in the BC region. CP teams are on site and will inspect tracks on the Cascade subdivision. Currently there is no time frame for service to resume in the affected area. Customers are advised that rail delays will be inevitable.
November 15, 2021 – Severe congestion across major airports appears to be hampering air cargo volumes. Although volumes appear to be growing as last minute shippers attempt to make up for the supply chain crisis on the water, the airports are simply not able to keep up around the world. Sea freight disruption and schedule failure are creating distressed ocean freight, and conversion to air freight – whether to get consumer products into stores for Christmas or components for manufacturing – has accelerated. Major airports across the US and Europe, notably JFK in New York, Heathrow and Frankfurt, are facing severe delays as handlers battle a shortage of labour. Meanwhile, the opening of the US to European citizens has seen additional passenger traffic. Frankfurt saw 32 flights depart to the US on the day the market reopened, up from 22 on the same day in 2019. We will continue to monitor the situation for our customers as these delays will likely hit the major hubs of Toronto and Vancouver closer to home.
November 8, 2021 – Container spot rates from Asia to Europe continued their downward trend last week from their September all-time highs, while transpacific base rates also lost significant ground.
The November 5 Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) commentary reports that the market from Asia to North Europe and the Mediterranean is “sluggish.” “Some carriers have increased their efforts to solicit cargo, which led to a slight drop in spot freight rates,” it said.
While the decline is not dramatic, it appears some carriers are reducing, or waiving, premium fees that can easily add $3,000 or more to the final invoice. Indeed, one UK-based NVOCC said his carrier was prepared to “throw in” its equipment and space guarantee fees during November.
October 24, 2021 – The ZIM KINGSTON vessel was subjected to rough weather during the weekend and a chemical fire was extinguished. Firefighting tugboats continue to operate to prevent renewed flare-ups. Additional expert and firefighting personnel are due to board the vessel soon, weather permitting, to oversee ongoing effort. Note that about 40 containers have been lost at sea and we are awaiting word to see if our customer’s cargo has been affected. We will keep you updated about the situation on due time.
October 12, 2021 – Urgent action must be taken by October 22, 2021 by Canadian exporters to China of medium-risk products to meet the new requirements coming into force on January 1, 2022 affecting food, including animal-based and plant-based food products. On April 12, 2021, the General Administration of Customs China (GACC) released two new regulations that will regulate food safety in China, as well as imported and exported foods: Decree 248 (Provisions on the Administration of Registration of Foreign Enterprises Producing Imported Food) and Decree 249 (Administrative Measures on Import and Export Food Safety). The new decrees are set to come into force on January 1, 2022, and all countries exporting to China will be required to meet the new requirements under the decrees. Decree 248 includes the requirement for a broad range of food products that will need to be registered with Customs China, including some products that are currently registered by the CFIA with China and listed in GACC’s eligibility lists. Decree 248 also includes many new products that may require establishment and exporter registration by both CFIA and GACC.
September 28, 2021 – Please note that our domain and emails will be temporarily offline on Saturday October 2 to Sunday October 3rd to upgrade our systems. We apologize for the inconvenience but please send your emails to canaan.toronto to ensure that we receive your email. All emails that are sent during this upgrade period will automatically be returned to sender. If your matter is urgent, please call us at 416.621.6800.