Container dwell times at the Port of Vancouver, Canada’s busiest intermodal hub, remain a pressing issue as the year progresses. According to recent data, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) has been notably impacted, with over 89,000 feet of containers lingering at Deltaport for more than seven days. This marks an improvement from the peak of nearly 160,000 feet in mid-March, yet it continues to pose a considerable challenge.
Read also: High U.S. Container Imports Continue Amid Tariff Strategies
In contrast, Canadian National (CN) has successfully reduced on-dock footage across all Vancouver terminals in recent weeks. By increasing the number of trains and expanding average train size, CN has achieved a 25% rise in daily twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) movement, with 52,388 feet of containers at Deltaport. This strategy has resulted in a consistent decline in on-dock footage and dwell times throughout March, demonstrating a robust performance compared to last year.
Meanwhile, 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, proving insufficient to manage the recent influx of containers to Vancouver. Year-over-year comparisons indicate CPKC is moving less volume.
The Port of Prince Rupert has experienced dramatic increases in inland traffic, with substantially larger trains and increased frequency leading to a 71.6% surge in daily volume since February. Similarly, Halifax continues to show steady growth in container volume, with daily TEUs moving inland at its highest point in over a year, 32.3% above last year’s volumes, driven primarily by increased train volume.
At the Port of St. John, increased train volume and sizes have resulted 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.
