BC Dockworkers Strike Is Impacting Freight Rail Operations in Canada and the US

FreightWaves is reporting (7-7-23) that the impacts of the work stoppage by 7,400 members of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union, who have been on strike since July 1st after talks with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association failed to reach a new labor agreement, are now reverberating through the supply chain and into the railroads.

The strike is affecting container cargo traffic at two of Canada’s busiest ports, Vancouver and Prince Rupert—both key export gateways for the country.

The Canadian National (CN) Railway told FreightWaves that is has taken steps to help mitigate service disruptions to Canada’s West Coast supply chain, “as well as the likelihood of related impacts across the CN Network. Those steps include preventing the flow of certain traffic and reducing intermodal customer capacity allocations to British Columbia ports.”

CN also warned that a stoppage can create disruptions that could take weeks or even months to correct because of the integrated nature of the ports and rail corridors.

Meanwhile, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) said it is in direct communications with customers about the strike. CP has implemented temporary embargoes for export traffic destined to the Port of Vancouver, which allows traffic “to move west while protecting network fluidity.

According to FreightWaves, even US rail operations are being impacted because US carriers interchange with the CN and CPKC, and US-based shippers utilize the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert to export and import goods.

To that end, Norfolk and Southern (NS) said on Thursday in a service update that because the CN and CP are no longer accepting interline shipments for that region, it is no longer able to ingate at Deltaport and Roberts Bank in greater Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert. Doing so will minimize any impact on NS operations, NS said.