Containers still not clearing at Montreal port

MONTREAL – Thousands of containers remain piled up at the Port of Montreal nearly a week after the lockout of 800 longshoreman ended.

According to reports, truckers picking up containers this week have been forced to wait up to four hours just to enter the port.

The port can usually accommodate about 250 trucks per hour, but that is down significantly as workers struggle to make up for work time lost in the weeklong work stoppage.

Reportedly, many of the 2,500 containers stacked at the port before the disruption still remain there. Piling on are new arrivals and returning empties.

As well, summer vacations and the fact that the Termont terminal is under construction hasn’t helped the situation.

While the backlog of cargo created by lockout has led to unusual wait times, some truckers insist there have been delays at the port all summer long.

The port is asking truckers to stay patient as it expects things to get back to "normal" within a week.