US Freight Forwarder Diverting Cargo Away from Canadian Ports

Monday, August 19, 2024

US freight forwarder C.H. Robinson said on Monday it was diverting some of its U.S. customers' ocean cargo away from Canadian ports as the threat of a rail strike looms.

It said roughly 80% of its customers who had switched are now exporting through Los Angeles/Long Beach ports and the rest through Seattle/Tacoma ports.

Canadian railroads, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, are bracing for a possible work stoppage by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Union.

"Now that a strike notice has been declared, some of our Canadian export customers are starting to ship time-sensitive goods to the ports by truck to avoid containers being stuck at rail terminals during a strike," C.H. Robinson's Canada VP Scott Shannon said in a statement to Reuters.

C.H. Robinson is lining up extra trucking capacity on both sides of the border, as volumes are expected to shift to highways following the disruption.
A strike, which could come as early as August 22, brings a level of uncertainty for shippers in both U.S. and Canada, forcing them to think about over-the-road options.


(Reuters - Reporting by Abhinav Parmar in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Sriraj Kalluvila)

Categories: Ports Logistics Cargo

Related Stories

Container Shipping Rates Plunge in Step with U.S. Demand for China Goods

Maersk Reopens Cargo Acceptance to Port of Haifa

Shipbuilding: ONE Singapore Joins the Fleet

Current News

Ship Design, Maritime Accidents and There’s a Master on the Run

Maersk: Effective US Tariffs Average Around 21% Currently

US Grain Shipments Surge 9% in face of Chinese Tariffs

Great Lakes Limestone Trade Up in June

Subscribe for Maritime Logistics Professional E‑News