Container Volumes Drop From Jasper Fire Shutdown
With CN’s main line into Alberta shut down toward the end of July due to the Jasper Fire, total container volume through the western Canada ports fell to 80,724 containers in July, down from 87,501 containers in June. It was the lowest total container volume since January.
Combined container volume through the Port of Vancouver was 67,541, down 3.9% from June. CN volumes through Vancouver fell 19.0% and CPKC increased 17.3%.
Port of Vancouver
Current Status
On-dock footage rose sharply for CN, more than doubling throughout July, according to the Port of Vancouver’s August 2 update. The time on dock has also increased for CN, driven by an inability to move containers at the end of the month.
Recent weeks saw larger movements of platforms out of the port area by both railroads.
| Recent Surplus of Westbound Platforms v. Eastbound | ||
| Week | CN | CPKC |
| 7/29/24 – 8/4/24 | (260) | (817) |
| 7/22/24 – 7/28/24 | 340 | 266 |
| 7/15/24 – 7/21/24 | 309 | (602) |
| 7/8/24 – 7/14/24 | (890) | 157 |
| 7/1/24 – 7/7/24 | 345 | (621) |
| 6/24/24 – 6/30/24 | (530) | 447 |
| 6-month weekly average | (16) | 16 |
Total Train Volumes
Total intermodal train volume out of the Port of Vancouver fell 4.5% in July, with a 7.6% decrease on CN, and an 18.0% increase on CPKC.
Canadian National
CN moved an average of 3.48 trains per day in July, down 22% from daily train volume in June. This drop averaged out to 1 fewer train per day than June.
Average train size fell slightly from the prior month, with 1 fewer platforms per train, but containers per train rose by 2 containers per train to an average of 317 containers.
Canadian Pacific – Kansas City
CPKC daily train volume in July was 18.0% higher than in June. Average train size was slightly smaller in July, with 2 fewer platforms and 2 fewer containers per train.
Prince Rupert
Container volume through Prince Rupert dropped sharply in July, hitting 13,183, down 23.4% from June.
Daily train volume fell 33.9% to 1.32 trains per day, down from 2.0 trains per day in June. The average train size increased by 19 platforms per train, and these trains carried an average of 34 more containers per train.
Travel Times Rise Sharply
Average travel time for intermodal trains traveling from Prince Rupert onto CN’s main line into the Edmonton area rose sharply due to the Jasper Fire shutdown. For the 12 weeks preceding the shutdown, average travel time for this route was 51.4 hours. Over the past two weeks, it has taken intermodal trains an average of 97.4 hours to travel this distance.
In addition to movements out of the port regions, RailState also tracks containers as they move toward their final destination, including across the US-Canada border. The share of container volume headed to the U.S. out of Prince Rupert rose in July to 53% from 40% in June. Container volume from the Port of Vancouver into the US decreased, falling to 16.5% from 20.6% in June.
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