There is congestion at inland rail yards and warehouses.
A container is being transported by trailer at Global Container Terminals after being unloaded from a container ship.
REUTERS files show a photo by Darryl Dyck.
The transportation of freight by rail from Canada's West Coast ports to the country's major urban centres continues to experience delays.
Maersk A/S warned customers for the third time recently that Canadian National Railway Co. is metering the flow of Toronto-bound releases to make sure they don't get stuck in Toronto. The time it takes for boxes to be taken away by rail after being unloaded from a ship is higher than usual.
When utilization is at 80 percent, the Centerm terminal is considered to be at maximum capacity.
Maersk said in a note to customers that they use an off-site yard near the terminal for all new Toronto containers.
Congestion at inland rail yards and warehouses in Toronto and Montreal has been attributed to insufficient drayage capacity, and is an ongoing problem due to a shortage of qualified truck drivers.
The average dwell time of the four container facilities was less than five days per month from May to June. The rail carriers reported Dwell times that were more than seven days for the Centerm facility and seven days for the Vanterm facility.
Andrew Cummings, a spokesman for the company, said in an email that they work closely with the operators of the terminal. The platforms are at a record high.
Heavy customer volumes are being managed by the railway. All participants in the supply chain need to work together to pick up and return equipment quickly.
A lack of warehouse and trucking capacity in Toronto is to blame for the situation, according to Jonathan Abecassis. Increasing the number of Toronto-bound trains from the West Coast and securing more storage space outside of its own yards are some of the ways in which the company is trying to improve its operations.
Only Long Beach, Calif., and Los Angeles were ranked worse in the container cargo efficiency rankings for the world's largest containerized cargo ports.
VFPA said in an email that supply challenges at the ports over the past two years were the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and high cargo volumes from Asia.
The port authority said its approach will help address challenges. The port is leading the Centerm Expansion Project and South Shore Access Project to help meet increasing demand for containers shipped through the port, while $1 billion will be invested in road and rail infrastructure.
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