Canada's western ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert are clearing last month's two-week dockworkers' strike during the accumulation of container backlog, the region's rail and trucking business began to return to normal.

After rejecting two agreements previously negotiated by the Canadian International Terminals and Warehouses Union (ILWU) and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Union (BCMEA), union members on August 4 voted to accept a third, ending everything from carrier sailing schedules to land transport labor disputes.

British Columbia Trucking Association British Columbia Trucking Association CEO David Earle David Earle said that Canada's largest port Vancouver freight operators at this time of the year to carry more containers than usual, but the terminal time is normal, the port near the terminal rail yard did not appear serious congestion.

The resumption of ship, rail and trucking operations continued to make steady progress, but the daily volume of containers leaving the Vancouver Marine Terminal was higher than normal, a result of a backlog during the strike rather than any peak season container congestion.

Vancouver and Prince Rupert are the trans-Pacific gateways serving the inland rail hubs of North America, including Toronto, Montreal and Chicago. According to the Port of Prince Rupert website, the port's container throughput fell 27% year-on-year through July. The Port of Vancouver has also seen declines of varying degrees. According to data from its website, TEU volume through July this year was down 16.9 percent from the same period last year. The queue for ships appearing in Vancouver last month has decreased.

The length of stay of rail containers at Vancouver's four container terminals changes from day to day. The port said that the average stay time of containers at sea in August is 3.2 days, compared with 5.8 days in July. Meanwhile, operating conditions in Prince Rupert have returned to normal.

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