1242 words 5 minute read – Let’s do this!
We are just about halfway through March and quickly approaching Q2. Will March go out like a lamb or like a lion in the industry? It seems mid-March is going to be a lion in terms of weather as the week comes to a close. Tornado watches are issued for the South Midwest as well as severe thunderstorms with damaging winds, torrential downpours and even golf ball sized hail. A major snowstorm complicated travel in Colorado Thursday morning after more than 2 feet of snow fell in the mountains, and the storm was far from over. Parts of Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona are also in for heavy snow. Westbound Interstate 70 was closed on Thursday morning between Golden and Silverthorne, a 58-mile section of the road west of Denver, due to safety concerns during the snow. Parts of U.S. 40 and CO 119 were also closed. As the Irish say “The sharper the blast the sooner ‘tis past.” – As a Buffalonian, I feel for you Colorado! If you would like to stay up to date on weather closures as it pertains to potential port and rail operations and closures follow our Linkedin page
Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) are still in negotiations with the Teamsters to renew three collective agreements affecting approximately 9300 workers at both companies. The notice of dispute filed on February 16th, also starts the legal process towards a possible strike or lockout. Under the Canada Labour Code, a work stoppage could occur as soon as 81 days after government mediators are appointed, potentially leading to a dispute as early as May.
At CN, the Teamsters represent close to 6000 conductors, locomotive engineers, and yard workers under a single contract. A strike previously occurred in 2019 over the issue of fatigue and rail safety.
At CPKC, the Teamsters represent close to 3200 conductors, locomotive engineers, and yard workers under a single contract. The union also represents approximately 90 rail traffic controllers, under a separate contract also being renewed. A work stoppage in 2022 triggered wide-ranging and severe supply chain issues. In 2023, CPKC was found in contempt of court after repeatedly violating the collective agreement’s rest provisions.
How can you get ahead of the potential disruption of a rail strike in Canada? Diverting your containers at the port and having Port X Logistics handle the drayage, transloading and trucking. We track your containers at time of arrival, dray your containers from all port locations and transload with plenty of photos provided and load to outbound trucks for the fastest over the road delivery. If you want more information on how we can get these containers drayed, transloaded and trucked – Cross border to the U.S. included, contact Canada@portxlogistics.com we are available for cross border questions and we have immediate capacity.
Import TEUs are down 12.46% this week from last, the heaviest volume this week arriving to Los Angeles 17.3% of incoming TEU volume, Long Beach 12.7% of incoming TEU volume and Houston 10.6% of incoming TEU volume. U.S. imports from Asia have been rising on a year-over-year basis since October, with February volumes up more than 30% from a year ago, according to early readings of PIERS data, when retailers and wholesalers were still destocking after an unprecedented import surge in 2021 and 2022. U.S Retailers increased their forecasts for first-half import volumes for the second month in a row last week. The volume projections from US retailers appear to be resonating with container lines. Asia outbound vessel capacity is rising to make more room for spring clothing, furniture for new homes and whatever outdoor furniture wasn’t snagged during the pandemic. Ocean capacity between Asia and the US in March and April will rise roughly 22% to well over 1.3 million TEUs each month compared to deployments in January and February, according Drewry Container Capacity Insight, which bases forecasts on announced carrier sailings. Adjusting to price inflation, US consumers spent nearly 30% more on durable goods in the fourth quarter of last year than in pre-pandemic Q4 2019, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
What’s happening at the ports and rails?:
You can find all the information on the below link where we cover port congestion, chassis issues and capacity lead times weekly at all U.S. and Canada Ports and rail heads on our website – click on the link below Click Here for Port & Rail Updates
Vancouver/Prince Rupert: The rail dwells are getting real in the Canadian West Coast
If you have ocean shipments coming through these ports and your containers are HOT! Let Rachel Racicot and her team get your freight expedited by setting them up for transloads. Canada@portxlogistics.com
Denver : Denver is in the midst of inclement weather through Friday, stretching to include the Denver airport. This is due to be their biggest storm of the season. There are no rail closures to report, but depots are closing early and travel is rough – depot closures and potential canceled or delayed deliveries will impact the rail’s congestion and wait times. No flights have been canceled but few have been delayed. The BNSF Hudson is still experiencing some backlog, containers sitting 5+ days before they are being grounded. Weather permitting, we still have capacity – our Denver operations have plenty of available drayage coverage and we have a transload warehouse for containers that need to be cross docked. If you are looking to make a change for the better to your Denver container operations, we encourage you to contact our Denver team at Denver@portxlogistics.com
Chicago: More weather issues potentially passing through Chicago, starting with heavy rain on Thursday. Southern parts of the city and suburbs are at a Level 1 risk for strong storms, with areas further to the south at a higher Level 2 risk for severe weather. North of I-80 could see isolated thunderstorm activity, with the potential for severe storms south of I-80. There are no rail delays currently but there are still some excess west coast rail dwell times. Even with all that wait time, our Chicago asset drayage team has full capacity to get your Chicago containers moving. We have 80 trucks and secured yard space and we are able to secure permits to haul heavy containers. For great rates, capacity and supreme customer service contact Danny and the team letsgetrolling@portxlogistics.com
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