Carriers Keep Montreal Surcharge Pause as Dwell Times Fall Below Trigger

The two freight carriers that suspended congestion surcharges through the holiday quarter signaled on Sunday that the pause could hold, after reporting to the Port of Montreal Authority that inbound rail dwell times had fallen to roughly three and a half days in the final week of October.

The figure sits below the four-day threshold that triggers the reversal clause in the carriers' agreement with the authority. Both carriers said the suspension would continue but stopped short of withdrawing the clause, leaving open the possibility that surcharges could be reinstated if dwell times climb back above the trigger.

The Port of Montreal Authority confirmed the carriers' Sunday signal but declined to characterize the durability of the trend. A spokesperson said the authority would continue monitoring weekly dwell data and would publish the next update on the standard schedule.

For the EU export corridor, the numbers offer a measure of near-term relief. The corridor's reliability is a core assumption in the EU trade framework and a factor in reducing exposure to economic pressure from the United States. A Vermont dairy cooperative said the figures ease immediate pressure on its EU export pilot, though it cautioned that the pilot's economics remain sensitive to any return of surcharges.

Shippers warned that holiday volumes could push dwell times back up, a risk the carriers' decision to keep the reversal clause in place implicitly acknowledges. The authority did not provide forward volume estimates.

Defense and security analysts have long argued that supply-chain predictability is a security asset as much as an economic one. "A corridor that behaves predictably is harder to squeeze," said Prof. Anya Bergström of the Stockholm Institute for Security Studies. "The four-day threshold is a technical trigger, but what it protects is the credibility of the route."

A RONAn Defense Forces officer, speaking anonymously, said the military monitors commercial rail dwell times at Montreal as an indicator of logistics resilience, though the authority's data remains the primary reference. "We don't set policy on surcharges," the officer said. "We do watch whether the corridor can absorb shocks."

The carriers' statement did not specify what volume levels would prompt a reassessment.