# Western ports clogged on slowdown in crop shipments by rail - The Globe and Mail

> As many as 35 ships were waiting at anchor off Vancouver and several more at Prince Rupert because rail shipments of wheat, canola and other western crops have slowed. Some vessels face waits of up to a month for their holds to be filled, and the congestion could spread further offshore.

- Date: 2018-03-07 · published 2018-03-07T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region Canada · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/66013-western-ports-clogged-on-slowdown-in-crop-shipments-by-rail-the-globe-and-mail
- Commodities: [Wheat (SRW)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WHEAT.md), [Canola Meal](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CANMEAL.md), [Ocean Grain Freight](https://feedsoft.ai/c/OCEANFRT.md)

## Why it matters

Rail bottlenecks delay Canadian grain and canola exports and tie up ocean freight, supporting Canadian basis and ocean freight costs while delaying delivery to overseas feed buyers.

## Read by commodity

- WHEAT: bullish ▲
- CANMEAL: bullish ▲
- OCEANFRT: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WHEAT | 2018-02-26 | [Grain growers, railways clash over slow pace of shipments - The Globe and Mail](https://feedsoft.ai/events/66510-grain-growers-railways-clash-over-slow-pace-of-shipments-the-globe-and-mail.md) | +1.4% | +1.3% |
| WHEAT | 2020-03-16 | [Ukraine: in the second week of March, the seaports halved grains shipments](https://feedsoft.ai/events/53985-ukraine-in-the-second-week-of-march-the-seaports-halved-grains-shipments.md) | -3.2% | -5.5% |
| WHEAT | 2025-10-06 | [Kazakhstan restricts rail shipments of grain to the port of Aktau](https://feedsoft.ai/events/22403-kazakhstan-restricts-rail-shipments-of-grain-to-the-port-of-aktau.md) | +0.0% | +6.3% |
| WHEAT | 2019-12-20 | [One month after CN strike, major grain backlogs remain - The Globe and Mail](https://feedsoft.ai/events/55600-one-month-after-cn-strike-major-grain-backlogs-remain-the-globe-and-mail.md) | +0.3% | +2.3% |
| WHEAT | 2018-05-30 | [CP Rail train crews go on strike as contract negotiations fail, talks continue - The Globe and Mail](https://feedsoft.ai/events/65032-cp-rail-train-crews-go-on-strike-as-contract-negotiations-fail-talks-continue.md) | -0.6% | -2.8% |

## Sources

- theglobeandmail.com: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/western-ports-clogged-on-slowdown-in-crop-shipments-by-rail/article38231529/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.