Work stoppage to hit British Columbia ports

The dispute will halt freight shipments through the ports of Vancouver — Canada’s busiest — and Prince Rupert. Grain will continue to be loaded onto ships, however.

The work stoppage will have an immediate impact on Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City traffic volumes in Canada.

International intermodal traffic bound for Chicago and other points in the Midwest is the most likely freight to be diverted away from the British Columbia ports, which went through a 13-day strike this past summer that prompted shippers to send volume to U.S. West Coast ports.

In September CN and CPKC sent an average of seven eastbound intermodal trains per day out of Vancouver, according to data from RailState, a firm that uses a network of sensors and cameras to monitor rail traffic. CN, meanwhile, handled an average of 1.5 intermodal trains per day out of Prince Rupert.

A brief work stoppage halted rail traffic in August on CN and CPKC due to a contract dispute with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.

“This strike will be the latest blow to the global reputation of Canada’s supply-chain, which will take time to recover,” TD Securities analyst Cherilyn Radbourne wrote in a note to clients.

The latest port labor dispute has centered around terminal operator DP World and its use of automation. In a bid to prevent a work stoppage, the union and employers association had been negotiating with the assistance of a federal mediator this week.

In eastern Canada, dockworkers at the Port of Montreal walked off the job Thursday morning, forcing the indefinite shutdown of two container terminals. The walkout at Canada’s second-busiest port follows a three-day overtime strike at the same container terminals earlier this month over scheduling.