Ongoing port congestion and import container dwell times in the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert have forced Canadian National Railway (CN) to establish multiple relief container yards in Toronto and Montreal to help clear the backlog and restore fluidity in the supply chain network. CN started moving marine containers to the “relief” yards but did not specify what determines which containers would be diverted. However, the railroad will move containers as close as possible to their intended destinations.
On August 9th, CN began implementing shuttle fees for the containers moved to the relief yards, which are subject to the charges below:
- CN Rail Mississauga: $300
- Container Storage Solutions (Brampton): $300
- Paul Transport (Mississauga): $300
- CN Valleyfield (Montreal): $550
At this time, there is no diversion plan announced for Vancouver. In addition to the diversion fees listed for the locations above, rail storage free time has been reduced from two free days to one free day.