Global News PNW ports say ready for strike-linked cargo diversions from East, Gulf coasts

US and Canadian ports in the Pacific Northwest say they are prepared to handle a sustained diversion of discretionary cargo from ports along the East and Gulf coasts should a strike by dockworkers in those regions begin on Tuesday, as expected.

Port officials and terminal operators at the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) of Seattle and Tacoma and the Canadian ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert told the Journal of Commerce they are steadily returning to fluidity after a spike in import volumes in July and August and a brief work stoppage by Canadian rail workers that disrupted intermodal rail traffic in the Pacific Northwest.

“Utilization at our marine terminals has returned to fluid levels following the import surge we handled in July and August,” said Jeff Bellerud, chief operating officer of the NWSA. Terminals there are operating at 55% to 65% utilization, Bellerud said.

Rail container dwell times in Vancouver spiked to an average of 6.3 days in August from 4 days in July, according to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, but Canada’s largest port appears to be experiencing a measure of relief in September.

“With container operations at the Port of Vancouver fluid and daily rail production strong, we are seeing container dwell times and on-dock footage trend positively,” a port spokesperson said. “Based on preliminary September data, on-dock dwell times appear to be trending down towards seasonal norms.”

Prince Rupert, which, similar to Vancouver, reaches US markets via inland point intermodal (IPI) service to Chicago, has handled growing import volumes this summer and has sufficient capacity available to handle elevated import volumes through the end of the year, said Brian Friesen, the port’s vice president of trade development.

“We have a significant amount of capacity available, short-term and-long term,” he said. “There are no issues with [container] dwell, rail supply or congestion.” Double-digit import growth Import volumes through the PNW increased by double-digit percentages this summer due primarily to front-loading of shipments by retailers who sought to get ahead of the threatened strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) on the East and Gulf coasts and the brief work stoppage by the Teamsters union against the Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) railroads in August.

US imports from Asia in August increased 34.6% in Seattle-Tacoma year over year, according to PIERS, a Journal of Commerce sister company within S&P Global. Imports in Vancouver last month rose 17.4% while jumping 35% in Prince Rupert, according to data from the ports.

The unusually strong import volumes strained the equipment resources of the BNSF and Union Pacific (UP) railways serving the NWSA and the Canadian railroads in Vancouver, resulting in eastbound-westbound train imbalances and extended rail container dwells, which caused congestion on marine terminals. Railroads attempt to contain dwell times The North American railroads say they have weathered the peak of the summer import surge and expect that intermodal container volumes, while likely to remain elevated at least through October, should be manageable even if East and Gulf coast ports are shut down for weeks. The railroads said they are confident rail container dwell times will trend lower in the coming months.

The average rail dwell at BNSF-served container terminals in Seattle-Tacoma is currently about five days, said Jon Gabriel, BNSF’s group vice president of consumer products. Terminal operators say rail container dwell times need to consistently be in the three- to four-day range to prevent congestion. Gabriel said BNSF is collaborating with the eastern railroads to bill more empty containers and railcars back to its Chicago hub, a plan that should improve overall railcar balance.

Union Pacific’s August intermodal volumes in the PNW were the highest since 2012, a UP spokesperson said. Although imports in Seattle-Tacoma will remain strong this fall, UP is working in close coordination with the container terminal operators to share data and position sufficient equipment to handle the volume, the spokesperson said. UP declined to reveal what the average dwell time is for rail containers it controls in Seattle-Tacoma.

CPKC’s network has recovered from the rail work stoppage in Canada in August and its network is now fluid, a spokesperson said. CN, meanwhile, is monitoring the labor situation involving the ILA and maritime employers and “working closely with customers to minimize potential impacts,” a spokesperson said. PNW terminal operators see relief ahead Terminal operators in the Pacific Northwest say they are coordinating with port authorities and the railroads to reduce congestion and improve rail operations at their facilities.

The Deltaport terminal in Vancouver has developed a 35% to 40% buffer capacity since the rail work stoppage in August, said Eric Waltz, president of GCT Canada, which operates Deltaport. The terminal typically loads about 35,000 feet of outbound intermodal rail freight daily. Deltaport is now consistently loading approximately 40,000 each day, with a recent peak of 54,000 feet, Waltz said.

BNSF and UP have been pre-positioning more equipment into the PNW, which is helping Husky Terminal in Tacoma reduce rail container dwell times to five days or less from six days last month, said Dustin Stoker, Husky Terminal president. “The assets are falling into place,” he said.

The average rail container dwell time at SSA Marine’s three terminals in Seattle is currently at eight days, about double what it was before carriers last month began rerouting some vessels from congested terminals in Tacoma to call instead in Seattle, an SSA spokesperson said.

“SSA expects rail dwell times to be back to normal in the weeks ahead,” the spokesperson said.

Trans-Pacific carriers this year added three weekly services to the PNW to handle the double-digit increase in imports, and that is reflected in an increase in daily vessel calls in Seattle-Tacoma. The average number of container ship calls last year averaged less than two per day. The calls in Seattle-Tacoma today are consistently averaging 2.23 per day, according to the Marine Exchange of Puget Sound.