Atlantic Canada Moving Freight but Feeling the Pressure

The Trucking Network Inc.

Supply chain containers on port
container depot and cargo truck, modern logistics background

The supply chain problems plaguing ports along North America’s west coast have been all over the news.  Ports in California, like the Port of Long Beach, have been working around the clock yet still see huge backlogs of waiting container ships.  In Canada, the Port of Vancouver is facing a large backlog of container ships, a situation massively impacted by the BC flooding and highway closures which have crippled the area’s ability to send freight inland.

In Halifax, NS, container ships haven’t been backlogged to the same degree. This is good news for companies in the area and inland shippers and receivers who ship through eastern ports.  However, while containers are moving, the downside is costs for shipping freight have increased dramatically.

According to an article by Global News, container shipping has increased in cost over five-fold for some shippers. Although such costs will have to be eventually passed on to consumers, shippers without the resources to cover the sudden increases in costs are finding it difficult to get their products to market.

As ports in some parts of the world turn into bottlenecks, supply chain pressures mount at areas where the bottlenecks don’t appear as severe.  Atlantic Canada may well feel this pressure increase with the holidays as repairs to BC’s infrastructure to restore original capacity appear far away.