| Container backlog
at Port of Vancouver |
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(Vancouver, April 7, 2004)… Containers
from Asia are piling up at Canada's Port of Vancouver due
to a shortage of intermodal railroad cars, and port executives
say it could be several weeks before the backlog is cleared. A typical eastbound intermodal train operated by CP Rail
out of Vancouver is about 6,000 feet long, meaning the
backlog equates to about 35 intermodal trains worth of
containers.
CP Rail spokesman Len Cocoliccio said that "we are
experiencing higher than forecasted levels of demand. Volumes
of most commodities have been peaking simultaneously."
"Around 200,000 feet [of containers] are on the ground
at the moment," Chris Badger, vice-president for operations
of the Vancouver Port Authority, said Friday. "It's
going to be a challenge to clear it."
Vancouver is a gateway for shipments heading to Canadian
inland markets and the U.S. Midwest.
The railcar shortage is compounded by a bottleneck on
CP Rail's busy single-track line through the Shuswap area
of British Columbia, where the railroad still is recovering
from snowslides and other severe winter weather. Canadian
National, which operates a parallel line on the opposite
side of the Fraser River, has had fewer problems. "We
have no backlog," said CN spokesman Mark Hallman. "We
have an adequate car supply in and out of Vancouver. It's
business as usual."
Badger said that the equipment shortage is rapidly becoming
an industry-wide problem as railroads struggle to cope
with the booming container trade from Asia. "This
is not just a British Columbia issue," he said. "Up
and down the West Coast (of both countries), other rail
lines are having similar challenges."
For more information, please call (905) 882-4880, Carlos
Torres, Manager - Transportation Consulting Services.
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