Two terminals operating at Port Metro Vancouver have declared force majeure, in the latest fallout from a drivers' strike that has crippled trade at Canada's largest port, the company that owns the terminals said.
Earlier this week, hundreds of truck drivers walked off the job in a row over wages, leaving the containers they transport stuck at the port, reported The Wall Street Journal.
TSI Terminal Systems, which operates the Deltaport and Vanterm terminals, Port Metro Vancouver's largest container terminals, sent its customers a force majeure notice on Thursday, saying that it won't be able to take in any shipments from Monday because of the strike, said Eric Waltz, the company's president.
"If the truckers aren't back to work by Friday, we won't be able to receive local import cargo into the port of Vancouver," he said.
The temporary suspension will affect about 30 percent of imports into the terminals. Imports meant for rail, as opposed to trucks, would not be affected, he said.
Companies can invoke force majeure clauses in contracts when circumstances they couldn't have foreseen, such as fires, natural disasters and wars, prevent them from meeting delivery deadlines.
Earlier this week, a spokesman for Port Metro Vancouver said that the stoppage could affect about US$797 million in cargo shipments each week.
The Vancouver port imported 27.4 million metric tonnes of cargo in 2013, up nine percent from the year before. The temporary stoppage will also affect Canadian exports through the port, two-thirds of which are forestry and grain products.
Last year, the port exported nearly 4.5 million metric tonnes of lumber, 2.5 million metric tonnes of specialty crops and 2.4 million metric tonnes of wood pulp, according to statistics from Port Metro Vancouver.
The port's two remaining terminals, Centerm, operated by DP World Vancouver, and Fraser Surrey Docks, haven't invoked force majeure at their facilities, said Brady Erno, a manager at the Fraser Surrey Docks.
On Sunday, Canadian National Railway told forestry-product firms that it would stop shipping cargo from mills until the warehouse backlogs stemming from the trucker's strike had cleared.
The strike has added to transport woes that are snarling up cargo throughout western Canada. Stephen Brown, president of the Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia, said that the truck driver strike at the Port Metro Vancouver is compounding a problem that has existed since mid-January, when cold weather combined with increased competition from the oil industry has slowed shipments by rail of commodities such as wood and grain.
-
Company DirectoryFreight RateExport RateAgency PartnershipCargo Leads