TRUCKERS and forwarders describe conditions in Vancouver as 'chaotic' and 'gridlock', having deteriorated in the past fortnight as imports surge, filling warehouses beyond capacity and causing a severe chassis shortage, reports IHS Media.
'It's absolutely chaotic here. Our customers are losing their minds,' said Tom Johnson, head of media relations for the Port Transportation Association (PTA).The sudden surge is nothing compared to what has occurred in the US where increased import volumes from Asia to Los Angeles-Long Beach and Seattle-Tacoma from January through August, have increased 28 to 35 per cent year on year. Vancouver's year-to-date increase was only 18 per cent.
Bruce Rogers, executive director of the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association, said warehouses in British Columbia have filled during the past couple of weeks as import volumes surge ahead of the holidays.
As a result, transpacific shipping lines have severely restricted how many empty containers they will accept at marine terminals, and truckers have been left with empties sitting on chassis and nowhere to go.
Yet average truck turn times have not lengthened, marine terminals point out. In the three weeks ending September 25, portwide truck turns averaged 39.5 minutes, up from 38.75 minutes in August and 37.5 minutes in July, according to Vancouver Fraser Port Authority data.
One marine terminal operator said this week was a rarity in that some container lines were only accepting refrigerated cargoes.
DP World country manager Maksim Mihic said conditions vary from facility to facility at the four container terminals in Vancouver, depending on the actions taken by the carriers that call there. Dubai's DP World operates the Centerm and Fraser Surrey Docks terminals in Vancouver.
'Our empty inventory is pretty good,' he said. In addition to the regular weekly services, some of the lines that call at the DP World terminals are deploying ad hoc vessels to pull back empties to Asia. However, because Canada is a much smaller market than the US, Vancouver has nowhere near the number of warehouses that ports such as Los Angeles and Long Beach have, so when import volumes surge with seasonal cargo as they are now, those facilities can be quickly overwhelmed, Mr Mihic said.
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'It's absolutely chaotic here. Our customers are losing their minds,' said Tom Johnson, head of media relations for the Port Transportation Association (PTA).The sudden surge is nothing compared to what has occurred in the US where increased import volumes from Asia to Los Angeles-Long Beach and Seattle-Tacoma from January through August, have increased 28 to 35 per cent year on year. Vancouver's year-to-date increase was only 18 per cent.
Bruce Rogers, executive director of the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association, said warehouses in British Columbia have filled during the past couple of weeks as import volumes surge ahead of the holidays.
As a result, transpacific shipping lines have severely restricted how many empty containers they will accept at marine terminals, and truckers have been left with empties sitting on chassis and nowhere to go.
Yet average truck turn times have not lengthened, marine terminals point out. In the three weeks ending September 25, portwide truck turns averaged 39.5 minutes, up from 38.75 minutes in August and 37.5 minutes in July, according to Vancouver Fraser Port Authority data.
One marine terminal operator said this week was a rarity in that some container lines were only accepting refrigerated cargoes.
DP World country manager Maksim Mihic said conditions vary from facility to facility at the four container terminals in Vancouver, depending on the actions taken by the carriers that call there. Dubai's DP World operates the Centerm and Fraser Surrey Docks terminals in Vancouver.
'Our empty inventory is pretty good,' he said. In addition to the regular weekly services, some of the lines that call at the DP World terminals are deploying ad hoc vessels to pull back empties to Asia. However, because Canada is a much smaller market than the US, Vancouver has nowhere near the number of warehouses that ports such as Los Angeles and Long Beach have, so when import volumes surge with seasonal cargo as they are now, those facilities can be quickly overwhelmed, Mr Mihic said.
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