The ports of Vancouver are reporting massive delays and backlogs, which is worrisome as the holiday season is around the corner.
“There’s nowhere to take empty containers, so they’re sitting on chassis is using equipment which means that they can’t go pick up fresh containers. The other thing we’re seeing is full containers heading back to the port, vessels are not necessarily arriving on schedule. We’re seeing an increase in import containers, but at the same time we’re seeing a decrease in export containers, so there’s just that lack of fluidity in the system right now, and it’s just creating a backlog of containers,” says Kaley Stefanovic, a spokesperson for the Port Transport Authority. (via News1130)
There are many reasons affecting the supply chain and subsequently causing these delays such as world events, weather, wildfires and COVID. Much of the product is coming from Asia and the same reasons are having an impact there as well, therefore the same issues are affecting the origin and destination ports.
BC’s transportation minister, Hon. Rob Fleming commented on the situation. He said, “The congestion we’re seeing is not unique to Port Metro Vancouver. Rather this situation is present at ports around the world; a result of supply chain challenges made worse by the pandemic. The challenges posed by the unprecedented demand for imported products are real and are concerning, and is something we are conveying to the federal government.” (via News1130)
Consumers are hoping the backlogs will clear up and delays will decrease as we approach the holiday season. People are looking forward to celebrating the season in full effect as it is the closest we’ve been to “normal” since the pandemic began close to two years ago.