$19 billion in trade stranded on water as Canada's West Coast labor negotiations hit pause

After a 4th time of negotiations, the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association told CNBC that negotiations with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada's Longshore Division are presently paused, pending further treatment with national mediators.

"The BCMEA remains acceptable to travel backmost to the array astatine a moment's notice, assuming that ILWU Canada is prepared to enactment guardant a tenable proposal. We are looking to scope a just and balanced woody truthful ports tin unfastened and goods tin commencement flowing arsenic soon arsenic possible."

The BCMEA said connected Monday that the ILWU Canada "seems to person entrenched their positions," alternatively than moving for an equitable deal.

Canadian Labor Minister Seamus O'Regan called for some parties to instrumentality to the table.

The ILWU said successful a connection the BCMEA "has deliberately sabotaged" the advancement that was made connected contracting retired attraction work.

The ILWU Canada connection said the authorities gave a 7% summation successful minimum wage recognizing the precocious outgo of living.

"One would look astatine the proscription manufacture wherever employers person made their just stock of profits successful which their employees were capable to stock successful akin increases successful enactment with what the authorities has already recognized arsenic reasonable," it said.

As a effect of the strike, Canada's occidental ports person not serviced immoderate vessels since June 30. This is creating a backlog successful commercialized with a full of 29 ports connected Canada's West Coast astatine a standstill.

Included successful this labour strife are the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert which collectively process and determination astir 20% of U.S. trade. Products ranging from captious car parts similar brakes are processed done those ports arsenic good arsenic further car and manufacturing parts, vacation items and user goods.

Charlotte Cook, elder commercialized expert astatine VesselsValue, told CNBC, "Strike enactment astatine the Port of Vancouver and Prince Rupert could person a important interaction connected transpacific cargo flows, with the ports typically accepting a combined mean of 34 instrumentality vessels oregon 289,700 TEU (container) capableness per month."

The worth of the combined 289,700 containers floating disconnected the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert reached $19 billion, based connected a $65,225 worth per instrumentality and Canadian customs data.

Cook warns vas transit and turnaround times are expected to summation arsenic a effect of the strikes and congestion looks to beryllium mounting extracurricular Vancouver, 1 of Canada's main instrumentality ports.

The delays Cook describes are akin to what logistics managers and shippers experienced during Covid. Delays make congestion which slows down the processing of commercialized and precocious fees, which are paid by shippers and typically passed connected to consumers.

This onslaught began connected Saturday and besides impacts the railroads which service these closed ports. Three Class 1 railways run astatine these ports: CN, Canadian Pacific, and BNSF, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. 

Logistics companies similar ITS Logistics are moving further trucking capableness to the railroad terminals of Chicago and Detroit to determination retired immoderate containers up of the surge of containers that volition travel erstwhile a woody is agreed upon and vessels tin beryllium unloaded.

ILWU Canada said they hoped the BCMEA was not "hiding" down the menace of "back to enactment legislation" truthful they would not person to negotiate.

When CNBC asked astir the calls for authorities intervention, the labour minister's bureau said they are encouraging some sides to negociate astatine the array successful mediation.