Disruption is back at West Coast ports, this time on the Canadian side of the border with the U.S., reports The Wall Street Journal. More than 7,000 dockworkers at the country’s Pacific Coast ports walked off their jobs over the weekend, raising the stakes in contentious contract negotiations and sparking worries over supply chains in Canada and the U.S.
Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada staged the strike after failing to secure a new contract through negotiations that started in March. Officials say the ILWU talks with the employer group are continuing.
Everstream Analytics says vessel traffic at Vancouver has been declining as the talks have grown more strained.
Vancouver, Canada’s busiest container port, and Prince Rupert together handle about $270 billion in trade annually. Prince Rupert, to the north of Vancouver, is a significant gateway for Asia inbound shipments and has intermodal connections into Chicago.
