Hundreds of containers stuck at Vancouver terminals for more than a month have started to move again, but it will be several weeks before the backlog is cleared.
“There is some movement, but it’s not back to normal,” said Francois Catellier, executive director of the Canadian Special Crops Association, whose organization was hit hard.
The month-long strike of container truck drivers came to an end after the Port of Vancouver implemented a two-year interim licence agreement for the container trucking companies and their drivers, as recommended by federal mediator Vince Ready.
Read Also
Land crash warning rejected
A technical analyst believes that Saskatchewan land values could be due for a correction, but land owners and FCC say supply/demand fundamentals drive land prices – not mathematical models
Under the agreement implemented Aug. 4, the port requires container companies to have an interim licence under which they agree to pay truck drivers based on a compensation package laid out by the mediator.
In his report, Ready said there are many matters affecting truckers, but the largest is waiting times at the port.
“There is something fundamentally wrong when truckers must wait for hours to get access to the containers. Waiting times increase costs for both the truckers and companies, and diminish their earnings,” Ready wrote about the time truckers must wait to haul the containers from the stuffing facilities to the port container terminals.
“In addition, for various structural reasons there is a continuing pressure to reduce payment and working conditions for truckers beneath sustainability,” said Ready about his reasons for setting out a basic payment structure.
Duncan Wilson, Vancouver Port Authority communication adviser, said as of Aug. 8, the port had issued 100 licences representing about 1,078 of the 1,200 trucks ferrying containers to the terminals.
“So far the terminal has been quite busy,” said Wilson, who added all the major firms had signed the agreement.
Originally the interim agreement was for only 90 days, but the federal government issued a cabinet order extending it to two years while a joint federal-provincial task force develops a long-term solution to the port problems.
It’s estimated the Canadian economy lost $400 million during the strike while about $1 billion in goods was held up at the ports.
Catellier said the problem results from the growing use of containers to ship products between countries.
“The whole infrastructure needs to be addressed,” said Catellier.
“Let’s face it, part of the problem is we’ve moved away from cereal production to specialty crops and that growth is going to containers,” he said.
Murad Al-Katib, president of Saskcan Pulse Trading in Regina, said he has seen progress in reducing the backlog of containers, but the lingering effects of the port strike will be felt for years.
“It’s been a significant impact on our industry,” said Al-Katib.
Contracts scheduling special crops to be shipped in June and July have been cancelled and sales lost.
Al-Katib said federal and provincial governments must realize and understand the change from bulk shipments of grain from the Prairies to special crops and containers.
“There has to be a recognition container movement is here to stay.”
