Montreal Port Calls for Strike Intervention, While West Coast Endures Backlogs
Twin labor stoppages at ports on both Canadian coasts don’t appear any closer to ending, resulting in vessel backlogs in Vancouver and a call from Montreal’s port authority for government intervention.
Speaking at an event organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal Thursday, Julie Gascon, CEO and president of the Montreal Port Authority, was blunt in her assessment of the contract talks between the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 375 and the Maritime Employers Association (MEA).
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“I believe that the best agreements are negotiated at the table. But let’s face it, there are no negotiations, and that the government must act by offering both sides a path to true industrial peace,” said Gascon.
Dockworkers at two of the port’s container terminals have been on an indefinite strike since Oct. 30, impacting 40 percent of container traffic that enters the port.
The union and its maritime employers are still deadlocked in ironing out a new deal, with CUPE working without a collective bargaining agreement since Dec. 31, 2023.
A Tuesday notice from the MEA said container handling operations at the port are experiencing a “major slowdown” due to the strike, with volumes dropping significantly.
A day later, Hapag-Lloyd told Kuehne+Nagel that it will resort to slow steaming for vessels bound for the Port of Montreal.
“Montreal’s logistics ecosystem has grown phenomenally. But we’re losing that momentum,” Gascon said. “There’s no denying that our reputation has been harmed by uncertainty over the reliability of our activities, and in the long run, we’re losing competitiveness. We need to be able to deliver stability and predictability.”
And on Canada’s West Coast, operations at ports are still reeling from Monday’s lockout of over 700 dock foremen with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 514 as they seek a new contract.
According to a Wednesday report from the Canadian Press, the B.C. Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) said it may be “required to reassess” its position on its offer to the union, which included a 19.2 percent wage increase over four years.
But like contemporaries at the U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports who went on a three-day strike to start October, the ILWU also is in dispute with one BCMEA member company DP World over automation—namely the potential impact of new remote-operated cranes on employment at the Port of Vancouver.
The Port of Vancouver remains open is continuing to manage high demand for anchorages.
According to Everstream Analytics, for every day the strike continues, it will take about three to four days based on historical data for the West Coast ports to get back to normal operations.
As of Wednesday morning, the queue of container vessels at the Port of Vancouver stood at seven, Everstream’s data says, and is expected to grow further as more scheduled ships are set to arrive in the coming days.
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, one of multiple associations calling on the Canadian government to intervene in the lockout, said the work stoppage is disrupting $576 million in trade per day.
But the labor action in Vancouver is also affecting goods entering the U.S.
“Any port disruptions in Vancouver would have the most significant impacts on imported goods destined for markets in the western U.S.,” said Jena Santoro, senior manager of intelligence solutions at Everstream Analytics.
Santoro said vessel diversions south to U.S. West Coast ports could cause congestion to spike, and result in cargo processing backlogs at ports like Seattle, Tacoma, Oakland and even southern California’s San Pedro Bay ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
“For now, most ships decided to wait instead of rerouting to U.S. West Coast ports,” Santoro said. “Should the strike continue for one to two more days, we may see the first diversions to ports such as Seattle-Tacoma which will cause delays and additional costs for shippers with containers on those ships.”
“Vancouver is a critical entry point for perishable food items like dairy, produce, and seafood, and manufactured goods like automotive components,” said Santoro. “As other nearby Canadian ports are also participating in the strike action, diversions to U.S. west coast ports are even more likely. Intermodal transport from Vancouver, namely, rail and ground freight, would also be affected as prices would likely increase amid trucker shortages and cargo delivery delays.”
The Prince Rupert Port Authority said Tuesday two out of the gateway’s seven terminals are directly impacted: Fairview Container Terminal and Westview Wood Pellet Terminal.
All other terminals are expected to continue normal operations. Anchorages remain fluid.
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