On Tuesday of last week, the Port of Vancouver cut off all rail services due to flooding and landslides in British Columbia. This has already caused significant delays for shipments, from containers to bulk commodities and everything in between. As of Tuesday, forty-two vessels were still at anchor at the Port of Vancouver according to American Shipper.  

Now it’s being reported that rail service at the Port of Vancouver could resume this week, as early as Wednesday, as CN and Canadian Pacific crews have been working to repair sections of their networks. In a press release last Friday, CP stated that work would continue through the weekend and, barring any issues, they estimate service to be restored by this Tuesday. According to Freightwaves, CN is expected to reopen the Kamloops-Vancouver corridor to some traffic early Wednesday barring any unforeseen issues. 

Air Canada has offered to add flights to help move cargo that has been blocked by the flooding. According to Freightwaves increased cargo-only flights and use of larger aircrafts on passenger trips will add 646 tons of capacity above planned levels, this will last until November 30^th, the airline said.

The damage and flooding from the storm have also caused issues throughout the province, including closing of roads which have limited truck access to the port as well as to the rest of Canada. According to Freightwaves, trucks have been rerouted through the U.S. to reach the port and support relief efforts.

This disruption comes as the port of Vancouver reported a 24% increase in container volumes and a 7% increase in overall cargo volumes for the first six months of 2021, according to Freightwaves.