As a potential Canadian rail worker strike continues to threaten, U.S. West Coast freight facilities are being stressed as shippers divert containers from Canada to the U.S. to avoid potential operational issues, according to a report from ITS Logistics, the Reno, Nevada-based third party logistics provider (3PL).
The impact comes amid additional supply chain impacts such as significant rate increases in dray and container storage capacity at the Port of Norfolk as demand shifts are spreading along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard to absorb Baltimore cargo, following the shutting of that Maryland port due to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge after a March 26 containership collision.
There also continue to be inland point intermodal (IPI) container dwell challenges in Los Angeles and Long Beach (LA/LB) ports, ITS said in its “ITS Logistics US Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index.”
According to the report, a strike by railworkers at Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) could have begun as soon as May 22, but was delayed this week by a review process being conducted by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).
“All rail operations throughout North America are being moved to a severe concern due to the potential labor disruption in Canada and IPI congestion in LA/LB,” Paul Brashier, Vice President of Drayage and Intermodal for ITS Logistics, said in a release. “With the continued container dwell issues in LA/LB and Seattle-Tacoma (SEATAC) due to flatcar imbalance for IPI import freight, Dallas ramp operations for both import and export will be adversely affected because of equipment imbalance.”
“Canada strikes will negatively impact ramps in the US Midwest and Toronto, as the majority of those containers enter North America through Canadian ports. The best operational plan to avoid these challenges is to terminate imports at the port of entry and use dray off, transload, and one-way trucking to get freight into DC networks,” Brashier said.
ITS encourages shippers and carriers to initiate a similar strategy for exports and book from the port/container yard (CY). One-way truckload, transload close to the port/terminal, and draying into the terminal will avoid delays on the rail. Industry professionals should also consider transportation providers with a multi-mode, North American footprint to execute applicable received requests.
