Month in Review – September 2025
Maritime
September 3: Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Region Mayors Join Fight to Rectify Insufficient CBSA Container Clearance Services – Maritime Magazine
In a joint letter to three federal government ministers, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence mayors have joined marine industry stakeholders to “unlock growth potential through Hwy H2O” by eliminating a critical barrier: the limited clearance services by the Canada Border Services Agency of international containers.
The mayors point out that “the clearance of international containers along Hwy H2O is concentrated in one port facility, and no complementary capacity elsewhere on the Canadian side of the system. (The port facility they refer to is Montreal.)
“While this existing capacity is essential, the absence of additional confirmed clearance options at other ports – including Hamilton, Quebec City, Windsor, Picton, Port Colborne and Goderich – leaves the system less flexible and under-utilized.
“The recent withdrawal of services by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) from the Port of Valleyfield in 2024 has further reduced our collective capacity. This is happening in a context where American ports on the East Coast are gradually taking over business destined for Canada, with containers from ports south of the border then being transported by truck and rail to our region. This not only creates congestion but also prevents the development of logistical chains that support a Canada Strong economy and well-paid jobs for our residents.”
In a letter to Minister of Transport Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree and Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly, the mayors of Montreal, St. Catharines, Quebec City, Hamilton, Windsor, Port Colborne, Goderich and Valleyfield stressed their belief that the Great Lakes/Seaway corridor is “essential not only for diversifying Canada’s global trade connections but also for building a more integrated, resilient, and competitive national economy.”
September 5: India Inaugurates Its Largest Container Terminal as Part of Global Strategy – The Maritime Executive
Ceremonies in Mumbai on September 4 marked the completion of the Phase 2 expansion of the JN Port-PSA Mumbai Terminal, which doubled its capacity and became the largest container terminal in the country.
The Mumbai terminal, which is built on 200 hectares, doubled its annual handling capacity to 4.8-million TEUs. It is designed to accommodate multiple mega container vessels alongside its 2,000-metre (6,560-foot) quay. The project brought together enhanced yard capacity and multimodal infrastructure and adopted the use of electric equipment.
September 7: USTR Port Fees Expected to Cost Cosco Shipping and OOCL $1.5 Billion in 2026 – Seatrade Maritime News
Chinese container lines Cosco Shipping Holdings and Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) will face the brunt of the impact from United States Trade Representative (USTR) port fees that will come into force in October according to a report from HSBC Global Investment Research.
The USTR fees for Chinese-built and Chinese-owned ships calling the U.S. will come into force on October 14 and, although the final rules are yet to be announced, the report looked at the potential costs to container lines.
“Non-Chinese carriers will be levied a port fee only if they deploy Chinese-built ships on U.S. port calls. We believe they have sufficient non-China-built ships to deploy to avoid the fees,” HSBC said in the report.
HSBC said that 71% of global container ship capacity is non-Chinese-built and that just 21% of capacity on the Transatlantic and Transpacific trades is China-built tonnage, and only 15% of U.S. port calls in 2024 were made by Chinese-constructed vessels.
September 8: Montreal Port Authority and DP World Sign Development Agreement for Contrecœur Project – Maritime Magazine
As part of the Port of Montreal expansion project in Contrecœur, the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) and DP World in Canada (a joint venture between DP World and La Caisse) have entered into a joint development agreement for the design of the land-based works of the future container terminal scheduled for completion in 2030, the MPA announced.
The official signing of the agreement, which took place on September 4, enables DP World to join the ranks of active terminal operators at the Port of Montreal.
September 8: Maersk Warns Canadian Importers to Brace for Peak-Season Disruptions, Tariff Changes – Inside Logistics
Canadian importers and exporters should expect continued supply chain turbulence heading into peak season, with new tariff measures, port congestion and inland transport bottlenecks adding cost and complexity, according to Maersk’s latest North America market update.
The global shipping giant said low water levels on the St. Lawrence River are limiting vessel capacity into Canada, complicating planning for businesses already navigating variable lead times and shifting trade flows. On the East Coast, congestion around Montreal is being compounded by major road construction at Turcot, Ville Marie and the La Fontaine Tunnel, while high dwell times in Newark are slowing Canada-bound rail cargo.
Reefer trucking into Canada is especially tight. Maersk urged shippers to book refrigerated equipment earlier than usual and build up safety stock to buffer against late arrivals. The company also recommended flexible Montreal delivery windows and considering alternative inland ramps or gateways to avoid bottlenecks.
“Plan Canada moves with added lead time and keep Montreal delivery windows flexible to account for variable discharge and roadworks,” the company said in its update.
September 8: Ocean Shipping Profits Plunge 56% in Q2 – American Shipper
The container shipping industry faced a challenging second quarter in 2025, recording its third consecutive quarterly decline in earnings.
The industry’s net income fell to $4.4 billion, a 56% drop from the first quarter’s $9.9 billion and a 63.7% decrease from the $12 billion earned in the second quarter of 2024. This decline is attributed largely to the ongoing impacts of tariffs and shifting trade policies, particularly involving the United States, said analyst John McCown in a report.
The imposition of tariffs by the Trump administration has significantly disrupted trade flows, leading to a pronounced downtrend in inbound U.S. container volumes. This disruption is forecast to continue, with the National Retail Federation estimating a 5.6% decrease in U.S. inbound volume for the entire year of 2025 compared with 2024. As a result, the second quarter set in motion a ripple effect across the global container shipping network, particularly affecting trade lanes that connect the Asia-Pacific region with North America.
September 15: 41% of Container Transport Is Empty – Splash
New analysis from Danish liner consultancy Sea-Intelligence shows the growing percentage of empty containers moving around the world.
Experts at Sea-Intelligence have calculated the share of empties relative to full containers, based on TEU-miles, and found out that currently 41% of container transport is empty.
“The present situation is that, for every 10 miles a full container is shipped, there is now a need to ship an empty container 4.1 miles – sharply up from ‘just’ 3.1 miles in 2019, before the pandemic market disruptions,” Sea-Intelligence explained in its latest weekly report, noting a five-year increasing trend, with only a minor temporary reduction in 2022.
Discussing the issue of empty containers, Acumen Freight Solutions, a Karachi-based freight forwarder, noted in a recent social media posting that trade rarely flows evenly between countries.
“Some regions export far more than they import, while others are primarily import-driven. This creates container imbalances where one port is overflowing with empties while another struggles with shortages,” Acumen explained, pointing out that ports in Asia often face container shortages due to high export volumes, while ports in North America and Europe may see surpluses as more imports arrive than exports leave.
September 22: Montreal Gateway Terminals Employees Launch Strike – Maritime Magazine
The 32 employees of Montreal Gateway Terminals launched an indefinite general strike on September 22. They had filed a strike notice on September 18 after voting 96% in favour of strike action on September 11.
With the exception of certain schedule adjustments, operations are expected to continue as normal.
Mediation and conciliation have been tried in this case, but without success. The previous collective agreement expired on December 31, 2024.
The Montreal Port Authority noted that the strike is not affecting other terminals.
September 22: Shipping’s Net Zero Crossroads: Ambition Meets a Credibility Test – Seatrade Maritime News
In a matter of days, what had been a technical debate about fuels and vessel design has turned into a public stress test of the International Maritime Organization’s Net Zero Framework (NZF). Prominent owners, including those linked to Frontline, Angelicoussis Group, Capital, TMS and Bahri, have said they cannot support the framework as written, describing it as an excessive financial burden for both industry and consumers.
Classification voices added their own caution. The outgoing chief executive of the American Bureau of Shipping, Christopher Wiernicki, called for a “timeout,” citing uncertainties in fuel availability, scalability and infrastructure. He also warned that bridge options such as LNG and bio/e-LNG should be protected in any framework rather than marginalized.
Elsewhere in London, executives began describing October’s extraordinary MEPC session as a choice between “two devils”: adopt a framework with unresolved mechanics and risk locking in unworkable obligations or reject it and risk regulatory fragmentation and investment paralysis. It’s now abundantly clear that confidence in adoption has weakened as the vote approaches.
Port authorities, represented by the International Association of Ports and Harbours, have also issued warnings, arguing that if no framework emerges, the result would be a patchwork of rules that raise costs and undermine planning for bunkering, terminals and landside investments.
The dispute is not over whether to decarbonize but instead over whether the current draft is investable, operable and affordable at scale. Five themes now dominate discussions across the sector.
September 22: Container Rates Plummet on China-U.S. Routes – The Maritime Executive
International container rates have plummeted over the past few weeks, pulled down by cooling economic signals in the West and the onset of the Golden Week holiday in China.
The core Shanghai-U.S. West Coast route saw rates drop by 31 percent week-on-week, down to just $1,600 per FEU. The all-water route from Shanghai to the East Coast fell to $2,500 per FEU, down 23 percent week-on-week. Rates from Shanghai to Europe dropped by nine percent to $1,000 per TEU, a favourable price per ton-mile for the shipper. Falling demand and falling rates are typically a sign of blanked sailings ahead.
“If demand drops, so should capacity if you are to at least underpin the rates and prevent them from dropping. And if we look on the capacity side, the carriers are still busy blanking sailings,” said Vespucci Maritime analyst Lars Jensen in a podcast released on September 22. “We are now at a point where roughly 14% have been pulled out of the Pacific, 17% out of Asia and Europe.”
September 22: Genoa Dockers Walk Out as Italian Unions Protest Against Israel – gCaptain
Striking dockworkers blocked access roads to the port of Genoa in northern Italy on September 22, as part of protests against Israel’s offensive in Gaza. Transport services also faced disruption and a number of schools across Italy were closed following strikes called by a group of unions in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Further down the coast in the Tuscan city of Livorno, an entrance to the port was blocked by protesting workers.
Italian dockworkers say they are seeking to prevent Italy from being used as a staging post for the transfer of arms and other supplies to Israel which is waging a war on Hamas in Gaza.
Demonstrations were planned for many Italian cities later on September 22.
September 23: Super Typhoon Ragasa Disrupts China’s Key Ports – Hellenic Shipping News
The closure of several major Chinese ports on September 22 ahead of Super Typhoon Ragasa could create shipping delays that exacerbate congestion at Southeast Asian ports, market sources said.
Port authorities closed Shenzhen and Nansha ports in Guangdong province until conditions improve. Shekou, Chiwan, Mawan and Dachan Bay ports also closed on September 22, according to a shipper.
“It is predicted that the wind and rain will gradually intensify in the afternoon of the 23rd, and the period from the night of the 23rd to the 24th will be the period with the strongest wind and rain, with an extremely high risk of causing disasters,” a China-based carrier said.
The same carrier estimated that the Yantian and Shekou terminals in Shenzhen will likely reopen on September 25, “if all goes well.”
September 23: Montreal Port Faces Bigger Problem Than $2.3-Billion Expansion Can Solve, Says Maritime Expert – Windsor Star
Montreal’s Contrecœur Terminal expansion may ease traffic at the port, but it won’t solve the port’s bigger problem: getting deep-draft modern container ships in and out.
Jean-Paul Rodrigue, a professor of maritime business administration at Texas A&M University, said the St. Lawrence River channel from Quebec City to Montreal isn’t deep enough to handle increasingly large container ships. It’s designed to handle vessels carrying up to 5,000 standard containers, which is much less than the standard Neo-Panamax container ships that can carry as many as 14,000 containers.
That’s a deal-breaker, he said.
“It’s becoming very evident over the last two or three years as the size of the container ship has increased exponentially that Montreal is becoming marginalized,” the specialist in maritime shipping, port operations and supply chains said. “We’re going to lose market share to the American seaboard. It’s going to eventually undermine maritime connectivity of Eastern Canada. That seems to be what’s happening.”
September 26: Record Cargo Volumes at Port of Vancouver in H1 2025 – Maritime Magazine
The Port of Vancouver announced it moved record volumes of Canadian trade in the first six months of 2025, delivering vast quantities of made-in-Canada grain, energy and fertilizer exports to diverse world markets against a challenging geopolitical backdrop.
The port’s mid-year cargo statistics show a 13% increase in cargo moved between January and June 2025, compared with the same six-month period last year – with a record of more than 85 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo handled.
Port of Vancouver terminals handled nearly 20% more international trade than a year ago, exports of Canadian crude, canola oil, grain, potash and coal to markets worldwide. Containerized trade over the first half of 2025 remained steady.
Air
September 6: Air Canada Flight Attendants Massively Reject Wage Offer, Union Says; No Labour Disruption to Result – CTV News
Air Canada flight attendants have massively rejected the employer’s wage offer following a vote on a new contract that ended on September 6. Flight attendants at Air Canada wrapped up voting at 3 pm ET on the tentative new contract, with 99.1 percent voting down the airline’s wage offer.
The airline says the wage portion will now be referred to mediation as previously agreed to by both sides.
“Air Canada and CUPE contemplated this potential outcome and mutually agreed that if the tentative agreement was not ratified, the wage portion would be referred to mediation and, if no agreement was reached at that stage, to arbitration,” the airline said in a statement shortly after the results were released by the union.
“The parties also agreed that no labour disruption could be initiated, and therefore there will be no strike or lockout, and flights will continue to operate.”
September 16: CUPE Requests Cancellation of Mediation – Air Canada press release
Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) reached a four-year tentative agreement for its flight attendants in August. This agreement, which was not ratified by the flight attendants, was achieved without concessions from the union and included improvements to wages, pensions and benefits, while also including a mutually agreed-to modernization of compensation for work performed on the ground.
In contemplating the potential outcome of not ratifying the tentative agreement, the parties mutually agreed that the wage portion would be referred to mediation and, if no agreement was reached at that stage, it would continue to the arbitration process previously ordered by the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The parties also agreed that no labour disruption could be initiated, and therefore flights will continue to operate as normal.
On September 12, CUPE asked to dispense with the mediation process and have the wage component proceed directly to arbitration.
Air Canada agreed to CUPE’s request.
September 23: IATA Study Confirms that SAF Technology Rollout is Main Bottleneck to Net Zero, Not Feedstock Availability – IATA press release
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), in partnership with Worley Consulting, has published a study demonstrating that sufficient sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) feedstock exists to enable the airline industry to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. All feedstocks considered meet stringent sustainability criteria and do not lead to changes in land use.
The study also identified significant barriers in using that feedstock for SAF production, namely:
The slow pace of technology rollout that would enable SAF to be produced from varied sources. Currently the only commercially scaled SAF production facilities use HEFA technology, for example converting used cooking oil into SAF.
Competition with other potential users of the same feedstock. IATA believes that policies to allocate biomass feedstock should prioritize hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation.
Rail
September 10: CN, CSX to Launch New Intermodal Service into Nashville – Progressive Railroading
CN and CSX this week announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to develop a new intermodal service into Nashville, Tennessee.
The service will provide customers with a seamless, all-rail alternative for international containers moving from Canada’s West Coast gateways through Memphis directly into Nashville, CN and CSX officials said in a joint press release.
By replacing the current trucking leg with a steel-wheel interchange, CN and CSX will be able to deliver faster, more-reliable and more-sustainable supply chain solutions for shippers, they said. The all-rail solution will reduce truck traffic on highways.
Trucking
September 9: Misclassifying Truck Drivers Is Illegal, ESDC Warns Employers – Today’s Trucking
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) issued a blunt warning to the trucking industry, reminding employers that misclassifying workers under the Driver Inc. model is illegal and will have consequences.
In a new video titled “Misclassification is illegal,” the department’s labour program outlines the growing problem of employee misclassification in road transportation and stresses that non-compliance with the Canada Labour Code will not be tolerated. The video explains what misclassification is, why it is prohibited, employer obligations and the penalties for failing to comply.
The initiative is part of Ottawa’s broader effort to clamp down on the Driver Inc. model, in which truck drivers are treated as independent contractors rather than employees. The practice allows some carriers to avoid obligations tied to overtime pay, vacation, employment insurance and Canada Pension Plan contributions.
September 9: FMCSA Will No Longer Accept Paper Payments, Including Cheques, as of September 30 – CDL Life
The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will transition to accepting only electronic payments later this month as the agency works to modernize operations.
Effective September 30, FMCSA will no longer accept paper payments like cheques or money orders for any transactions, including fees for initial application of operating authority registration, reinstatement or legal name changes, civil penalty payments, and other fee-based transactions.
After the September 30 deadline, users will be required to make electronic payments by providing debit or credit card information.
Officials say that they are transitioning away from paper payments because electronic payments are “faster, more secure, and more efficient, reducing errors and administrative burden,” as well as being in alignment with White House Executive Order 14247: Modernizing Payments To and From America’s Bank Account.
Any paper cheque received after September 30 will not be processed and will be returned, potentially delaying services.
September 10: Drivers’ Licence Suspensions a Positive Step in Tackling Truck Safety Crisis in Ontario – OTA press release
As the Province of Ontario continues to address significant challenges and irregularities within its commercial truck driver training and licensing regime, the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) continues to urge the government to accelerate the process to end lawlessness in the trucking industry.
OTA understands the Ministry of Transportation continues to issue letters to Class A licence holders, notifying them of a 90-day suspension of their licence. The letter reportedly states the suspension is due to “their dishonesty during the Class A test and or/training process” and “further communication related to this matter will be forthcoming.”
“Trucking is one of the few industries that shares its workplace with the public. It comes with added responsibility to meet the highest safety standards – something most truck drivers and company owners willingly accept as part of doing business,” said OTA president Stephen Laskowski.
“…there are way too many companies that allow such drivers to share the road with the public. OTA questions how many fleet owners were aware or unknowingly participated in these licensing scams to access low-cost labour at the expense and risk to public safety.”
September 11: Trucker Protests Coming to Quebec – La Presse (translated from French)
Starting September 22, a group called Enough is Enough promises to create traffic congestion every Monday in several Quebec cities.
“Our goal is to make ourselves heard and be tiresome,” movement spokesperson Steve Bourgeois told me. “We’re going to drive our trucks in the right lane. We’re going to respect the speed limit and we’re going to cause even more traffic during rush hour, between 5 am and 9 am.”
The means can certainly be criticized. The Quebec Trucking Association has distanced itself from the upcoming demonstrations, even though it supports the demands of the Enough is Enough movement.
The truckers are essentially demanding… that the screws be tightened. They want more regulation and more oversight. You read that right.
September 22: Investigation: Is Unsafe Ontario Equipment Being Allowed to Operate with Unethically Obtained Safety Inspection Decals? – Today’s Trucking
A Toronto-area heavy-duty repair shop owner recently became suspicious when a normally steady stream of local trucks seeking annual safety inspections stopped showing up. When he began seeing those same units coming to his shop in various states of disrepair, yet with shiny new FMCSA inspection stickers affixed, his suspicions grew.
Some of the customers told him they found a cheaper service provider for safety inspections elsewhere. But he also noticed each of those trucks and trailers from a variety of trucking companies were certified by the same Illinois repair shop, ATG Repair.
The shop owner could think of no possible explanation for so many Ontario-based trucks and trailers to have all been inspected by the same shop in Cook County, Ill. Stranger yet, these trucks carrying ATG Repair stickers, but belonging to different companies, frequently congregated in the same Mississauga yard.
September 24: B.C. Court Upholds New Restrictions on Independent Truckers – Castanet
A judge has upheld a ruling from the B.C. Container Trucking Commissioner imposing strict new rules on independent truck operators.
The decision, handed down September 17 by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Matthew Kirchner, dismissed an application for judicial review brought by two truck drivers, Paul Uppal and Waldemar Zawislak, who claimed the changes would severely restrict their business operations.
Both men have owned and operated two container trucks for the past 20 years but were denied a second set of truck tags for a new two-year licensing term starting December 1, 2024.
The commissioner, whose role was set up in 2014 to resolve labour problems associated with the oversupply of trucks and underpayment of drivers, regulates access to container terminals in the Lower Mainland. To get access to the port, trucks must be associated with a licensed company and have valid truck tags.
Reforms in 2020 aimed to cut down on a glut of trucks accessing the port. The commissioner later released a report raising concerns of “high rates of non-compliance.” New changes, he said, would distribute a reduced number of truck tags to existing licensees based on their business case, compliance history and fleet efficiency.
The reforms have forced some larger trucking companies to retroactively pay out tens of thousands of dollars to drivers and lose preferred access to the port.
When it came to independent operators, new rules announced in May 2024 capped the length of time they can use a hired driver at 90 days.
CIFFA Advocacy, Communications, Activities
September 26: With House Back in Session, CIFFA Advocacy Team Heads to Ottawa for Meetings
On September 23, CIFFA’s advocacy team – Ben Martin, Julia Kuzeljevich and Executive Director Bruce Rodgers – attended a series of meetings in Ottawa to advance CIFFA’s advocacy issues before officials. The group had meetings with National Supply Chain Office officials (in Ottawa and remotely from Vancouver); Transportation of Dangerous Goods directorate officials; the Leader of the Opposition’s Stakeholder Relations team; Conservative MP Jacob Mantle, a member of the Standing Committee on International Trade; and Transport Parliamentary Secretary Mike Kelloway.
