Canadian Ports Grapple with Severe Congestion Amid Weather and Rail Disruptions

Major Canadian ports, particularly along the West Coast, are experiencing unprecedented congestion and delays as severe winter weather, ongoing rail service disruptions, and vessel scheduling volatility continue to impact operations.

The Port of Vancouver is at the epicenter of the crisis, with cascading effects reaching terminals across the country and beyond.

At Vancouver, terminal utilization has surged to over 102%, leading to berth delays of up to nine days. Import dwell times have climbed to 4.1 days, while outbound containers are facing delays of 20 to 30 days, primarily due to rail bottlenecks. Both Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and Canadian National (CN) have implemented operating restrictions, such as shorter train lengths and speed reductions, in response to winter conditions, extending cargo transit times by up to two weeks.

Roughly 25% of vessels calling Vancouver are waiting for berths, with some ships, including the MSC Elisa XIII, delayed for more than 16 days. Inconsistent estimated times of arrival (ETAs) and ongoing reshuffling of global shipping alliances have made berth planning significantly more challenging.

On the East Coast, Halifax is facing its own crisis. Adverse North Atlantic weather, limited labor availability, and railcar shortages have pushed rail dwell times to 18 days, with some containers waiting up to 30 days for clearance. Meanwhile, Saint John is contending with gantry crane failures and IT system issues, though terminal utilization has stabilized at 89%. Montreal, while operating more steadily, is adjusting to winter navigation restrictions and managing rail dwell times of 5.1 days amid inconsistent equipment availability.

These Canadian disruptions are part of a broader logistics strain across North America. U.S. ports such as Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Seattle-Tacoma are reporting dwell times between two and seven days. In Mexico, ports like Lázaro Cárdenas are being impacted by road infrastructure problems, while Europe, Asia, and Africa are experiencing delays tied to labor actions, equipment shortages, and extreme weather events.

Implications for Shippers

As the congestion deepens, importers and exporters using Canadian gateways are advised to prepare for:

• Extended transit times and late deliveries

• Increased demurrage, storage, and congestion-related costs

• The need for flexible routing and adaptive logistics strategies

  
  

Shipping and logistics providers, including freight forwarders and ocean carriers, are working proactively to communicate updates and explore alternate solutions for affected clients.

CPKC container dwell still an issue at Canada’s largest port

Canadian National shows greater gains at Vancouver's Deltaport. Container dwell times at the Port of Vancouver, Canada’s busiest intermodal hub, continue to be a significant issue since the start of the year.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City has been particularly affected, with over 89,000 feet of containers sitting at Deltaport for more than seven days, according to port data. This is an improvement from the peak of nearly 160,000 feet in mid-March, but still presents a substantial challenge. In contrast, Canadian National has managed to decrease on-dock footage across all Vancouver terminals in recent weeks.

CN has responded to increased container volume through Vancouver with notable success, analyst RailState told FreightWaves. By adding more trains and expanding average train size, CN has achieved a 25% increase in daily movement of 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, and movement of 52,388 feet of containers at Deltaport. This strategy has led to a consistent decline in on-dock footage and dwell times throughout March

Compared to last year, CN’s performance is strong:

• TEUs per day: up 11.4% from March 2024, and 25.2% from February.

• TEUs per train: increased by 9.1% from March 2024, and 15.2% from February.

• Trains per day: a slight increase of 2.1% from March 2024, and 8.7% from February.

CPKC’s performance presents a more challenging picture. Despite a modest 7.6% increase in train volume from February, there has been no significant change in train size.

This has proved insufficient to manage the recent influx of containers to Vancouver.

Year-over-year comparisons show CPKC moving less volume:

• TEUs per day: down 9.5% from March 2024, but up 8.5% from February.

• TEUs per train: a significant decrease of 15% from March 2024, up 0.9% from February.

• Trains per day: up 6.4% from March 2024, and 7.6% from February.

  
  

The Port of Prince Rupert has seen dramatic increases in inland traffic. With substantially larger trains (529 TEUs per train in March, up from 425 in February) and increased frequency, daily volume has surged by 71.6% since February through the British Columbia port.

• TEUs per day: up 7.4% from March 2024.

• TEUs per train: increased by 8.3% from March 2024, and 24.5% from February.

• Trains per day: a slight decrease of 0.8% from March 2024, and 37.9% from February.

Halifax continues to show steady growth in container volume. Daily TEUs moving inland is at its highest point in over a year, 32.3% above last year’s volumes. This growth is primarily driven by increased train volume rather than longer trains.

Year-ago and current year comparisons:

• TEUs per day: up 32.3% from March 2024, and 7.9% from February.

• TEUs per train: increased by 6.7% from March 2024, and 2.5% from February.

• Trains per day: a substantial increase of 24% from March 2024, and 5.2% from February.

  
  

The Port of St. John has seen increased train volume and sizes, resulting in a nearly 50% jump in daily TEU volume moving inland compared to February 2025. However, year-over-year comparisons are unavailable as RailState data collection began in April 2024.

By: Stuart Chirls, FreightWaves, Trains.com