British Columbia port strike ends, but cross-border recovery seen taking weeks
Dockworkers at Canada's West Coast ports returned to work in July 2023 after a 13-day strike that backed up vessels and rail freight bound for the U.S.
In July 2023, a strike by dockworkers at British Columbia ports, including Vancouver and Prince Rupert, ended after 13 days. Both sides accepted a deal proposed by federal mediators, and workers were due back for the 4:30 p.m. Pacific shift on Thursday, July 13.
The strike began July 1. Canadian Labor Minister Seamus O'Regan and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a statement that "the scale of this disruption has been significant." O'Regan, who saw the differences between ILWU Canada and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association as bridgeable, had pushed federal mediators on Tuesday to come up with a proposal both sides could accept. No terms were disclosed.
Key sticking points included the assignment of work to third-party companies and wages. ILWU Canada said the real purchasing power of longshore wages had fallen 2.5% since 2017.
Ships and trade waiting
Data from VesselsValue showed four vessels waiting at Prince Rupert and nine at Vancouver, with $7.5 billion of trade sitting offshore.
CNBC reported that about 20% of U.S. trade arrives through Vancouver and Prince Rupert. An HLS market report said about 15% of Vancouver's import volume and about 65% of Prince Rupert's go to U.S. destinations. U.S. Census data showed about $572 million a day in container trade arriving in the U.S. from Canada, and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce estimated that $605 million in trade moves through one of the two ports daily, according to CNBC, which did not specify the currency.
Rail impact
The Association of American Railroads reported that Canadian intermodal rail volume was down almost 50% from a year earlier in the prior week.
The Railway Association of Canada said each strike day would take three to five days to recover, implying rail container delays of 39 to 66 days.
Eric Byer, CEO of the National Association of Chemical Distributors, said shippers that rebooked through U.S. West Coast ports faced an extra 10 to 14 days of ground transit.
What it meant for carriers
For carriers handling freight moving between Canada and the U.S., the end of the strike did not mean an immediate return to normal. Vessels and containers waiting offshore had to be worked through, and rail recovery was expected to take weeks. Freight that had been diverted through U.S. West Coast ports added days of ground transportation for shippers.