Following heavy rain, which triggered flooding and landslides in the region surrounding Vancouver, both Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) have announced they hope to get rail services to and from Vancouver restarted later this week.
The disruptions began on Tuesday of last week, with early estimates that services would resume over the weekend. However, repair efforts have continued into the start of this week and have not yet been completed. The province itself has a declared state of emergency lasting through December 1.
Currently, 47 container ships are sitting idle waiting to dock, mostly bulk cargo ships—though six container ships are among them. Some analysts warn the issues could become significant impediments to the supply chain, with various ocean carriers also warning of increased congestion and vessel delays.
Prince Rupert, the rail terminal north of Vancouver, has been unaffected by the storms and maintains regular service, and may see diverted volume brought in to keep cargo flowing, as best as possible.
If you have questions about the impact this may have on your shipments, please reach out to your Mohawk Global representative.