August 5, 2021 – About 9,000 Canada Border Service Agency workers could begin job action as early as Friday August 6th. Although the immediate impact will be felt by travelers, cargo coming into or exiting Canada will also be impacted even though customs officers are considered essential workers. The impact will likely not be felt immediately but there will likely be delays in customs clearances, inspections, emanifest filings and all transactions at the land, port and airport crossings will be affected. We will continue to keep our customers and partners informed of any breaking news and we encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter which will provide the most updated information.
August 4, 2021 – Extreme weather in China is becoming the latest challenge to global supply chains, as a heavy typhoon season threatens to further delay goods stuck at some of the world’s busiest container ports. Yantian port in southern China’s export and industrial hub of Shenzhen stopped drop-off services of containers on Tuesday night due to a typhoon alert, the port said on its official social media account. Just two weeks earlier, Shanghai’s Yangshan mega-terminal facility and nearby ports evacuated ships as Typhoon In-Fa slammed into the coast, bringing widespread flooding and toppling containers stowed in the hold of a bulk carrier traveling to the U.S. There may be worse to come, as officials predict more typhoons will hit China this month.
July 29, 2021 – Following the announcement that was made yesterday, July 28, 2021, by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), on behalf of the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU), the Border Services Officers (FB) bargaining unit has voted in favour of a strike. As early as the first week of August, CBSA Border Services Officers, represented by PSAC, will be in a legal strike position as a result of an impasse in negotiations between their union and the Government of Canada.
Ninety percent (90%) of Border Services Officers have been identified as essential, meaning that they will continue to offer essential services if there is a strike. We expect that our officers will fulfill their duties with the highest level of integrity and professionalism. CBSA operations will carry on as planned as the Agency continues to ensure the safety and security of Canadians while maintaining the flow of goods and services across the border. However, travelers and businesses could experience an increase in border wait times, picketing outside CBSA premises, and wearing of union-related accessories. The CBSA has been actively working to plan for these situations and has developed mitigation strategies to ensure operations will continue. The CBSA will respond quickly to any job action or work disruption in order to maintain the safety and security of our border, ensure compliance with our laws, and keep the border open to facilitate the flow of legitimate goods and travel.
The CBSA noted the core functions of Border Services Officers work at the waterfront terminals is deemed to be essential and they do not anticipate disruption to the movement of cargo in the event of a strike. The CBSA is working closely with its local managers to ensure picketing plans are in place to allow essential CBSA workers to report to work, which they are required to do.
We will continue to monitor the situation daily and share our findings and advice.
July 24, 2021 – Days after civil unrest and violence disrupted operations at South Africa’s busiest port, reports are that container operations at Durban have again been brought to halt by a suspected cyberattack against port operator Transnet. South African media reports said that nothing is currently moving in or out of the container terminals with trucks backlogged in the streets around the Port of Durban. “Transnet is currently experiencing a disruption in some of its IT applications, and the source of this problem is being identified,” the company said in a statement released to customers and posted on social media. “Port terminals are operational across the system, with the exception of container terminals, as the NAVIS system on the trucking side has been affected.”
July 20, 2021 – The Port of Vancouver issued the following update yesterday. Temperatures in the southeastern part of the province will continue to be hot and above seasonal numbers. Wildfire activity in the B.C. interior is expected to continue, with impacts to rail operations. Over the weekend (July 17), a fire at Tremont Creek shut down CN and CP traffic briefly, for an hour and half.
At the time of this update, reports indicate that both CN and CP lines are operational, with an increase in rail activity over the past few days. Operations may be subject to temporary stoppages due to spot fires. Both lines continue to operate under Ministerial Order (MO) 21-06 requirements, which include targeted speed restrictions, increased equipment inspections, and staging and deployment of additional fire prevention equipment. All anchorage class assignments are experiencing heightened demand, and availability in both port jurisdiction and the Southern Gulf Islands is very limited at the moment. All English Bay anchorages are full and Southern Gulf Islands have 10 anchorages remaining. The vessel arrival board continues to be busy and we have multiple vessels all over 260 m in length arriving over the next 3 days.
July 19, 2021 – Union Pacific is temporarily suspending eastbound service from West Coast port terminals to its Global IV intermodal facility in Chicago to help ease “significant congestion” at inland terminals, especially Chicago, and at the ports. The suspension is aimed at helping ocean carriers reduce backlogs. UP hopes this suspension, which will start on Sunday and last for about seven days, will not only help relieve port backlogs for Chicago-bound container traffic but also ultimately help address backlogs for containers destined to other markets. The suspension applies to UP-served terminals at the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, California, and Tacoma, Washington.
July 11, 2021 – The Ministerial Order suspending rail service for 48 hours between Kamloops and Boston Bar, B.C. effective 00:01 PDT on July 9, 2021 ended at 00:01 PDT July 11, 2021. A new Ministerial Order has been issued by the Minister of Transport to enact precautionary safety measures to further protect against wildfires during extreme weather conditions. The order places operational restrictions on CN and CP rail lines routing between Kamloops and Boston Bar (Ashcroft Subdivision) and Kamloops and North Bend (Thompson Subdivision) when the fire hazard rating is listed as "extreme." Restrictions include reduced speed limits and fire mitigation measures. Additionally, the order requires risk mitigation action by all Class 1 railways throughout Canada when the air temperature is 30°C or above and the fire hazard level is listed as "extreme." The Ministerial Order took effect at 00:01 PDT on July 11, 2021 and will remain in effect until October 31, 2021. Anchorage demand at the Port of Vancouver continues to be high and nearing capacity. Anchorage assignments are made to ensure fluidity across all ship types and essential services.
July 6, 2021 – BC wild fires continue to have rail main line operations severely constrained. CP Rail (CPR) and CN Rail (CNR) teams are on site and supporting local authorities. Berth availability for vessels arriving at Vancouver Port terminals is delayed as a result. At this time CPR has advised that their line is now cleared. It is anticipated that CNR will take a couple of more days. In the meantime CPR and CNR will share the one line for both Westbound and Eastbound trains. It is anticipated that GCT Deltaport should start seeing trains Tuesday evening / Wednesday morning, all going well. As a result of the rail line closures, there is now a large backlog to work through and delays from 72 to 96 hours can be expected. We are monitoring the situation closely and will update you as the situation evolves.
July 5, 2021 – We wanted to provide you with an update on the impacts of recent British Columbia wildfires on rail operations servicing the Port of Vancouver. All rail service coming into and out of the Port of Vancouver has been halted as a result of the B.C. wildfires. Currently, there are a large number of trains waiting to arrive at the Port of Vancouver. Both CN and CP Rail are working closely with Transport Canada and onsite inspectors to determine the necessary steps to resume safe rail operations. With rail impacts on terminal operations, vessel delays and heightened anchorage demand are expected. The Port is working closely with our container terminal operators, railways, and government to understand the impacts of these delays on terminal operations and to develop a recovery plan. All our customers with cargo transiting through the Port of Vancouver are advised of these potential delays.
June 28, 2021 – Record high ocean freight spot rates ex-Asia have seen a further major hike this week, including rises of nearly 40% this week to the U.S., as a month of port restrictions and congestion at Yantian and other south China ports worsen container shipping’s already severe global capacity and equipment shortages. And with reports of actual market rates of more than $20,000 per FEU, some are questioning the value of pricing indices in the current highly disrupted market – especially those based on carriers’ published rates that are largely unavailable to most shippers. Although current massively elevated rates include a premium fee to guarantee equipment and space, some shippers complain that their cargo is still getting rolled. And as the peak season approaches, it appears the situation is about to get even worse for shippers to Europe and the U.S. and Canada. They will need to brace themselves for another round of FAK and GRI rate hikes on July 1, with yet another hike likely from the middle of the month and a peak season surcharge of several thousand dollars.