According to shipping specialists, the recent 13-day dockworker strike at the ports of Prince Rupert and Vancouver in western Canada had a substantial effect on the area's maritime sector.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (Canada) and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) were able to come to a tentative four-year contract deal, which put a stop to the strike, but it still seems like a long way off until things return to normal in these ports. The entire recovery of operations may not occur until September, industry analysts say.
For every day that a port is closed, Julia Kuzeljevich, director of strategy and communications at the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association, claims that it normally takes three to five days to get things back to normal.
Similar perspectives are held by executives of carrier businesses that make calls to Vancouver, who predict that it may take three weeks to recover for every week the stoppage lasted. However, elements like the current off-peak season for Canada's agricultural exports and the comparatively lower eastbound Transpacific volumes may help to shorten the recovery period a little bit.
Impact on rail and trade
According to David Bennett, chief commercial officer at Canadian forwarder Farrow, the overwhelming reliance of Prince Rupert and Vancouver on rail-delivered shipping containers would have a significant impact on the return of rail services.
According to his calculations, the recovery period might last up to ten days per day of the shutdown, or more than four months. This increased time frame takes into account the complex rail system, where delays and traffic jams are anticipated to have a domino effect on supply chains.
The US supply chain will see the effects of the strikes first, given that 15% of US trade passes via the Port of Vancouver and 60% of rail traffic leaving the Port of Prince Rupert is bound for the US.
Current state at the ports
According to seaexplorer data, vessels' 7-day average waiting time at the Port of Prince Rupert was 8.7 days on 17 July. An apparent increase can be seen over the strike period, which extended from 1 July to 13 July. At Vancouver Port, the average reached eight days on 17 July, a significant jump from last week's average.
