Companies make alternate plans as truckers dispute continues
Posted March 11, 2014 9:57 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The resource sector is the latest to sound the alarm about the ongoing truckers’ dispute at Port Metro Vancouver.
There are concerns the Port could quickly lose business that won’t come back anytime soon.
Forest product companies are making alternate plans, according to the Western Canadian Shippers’ Coalition, which warns that could hurt the port and the truckers.
“The quickest arrangements are just to switch ports. The more lenghty ones, and frankly the more damaging ones, are to go to break bulk ships,” says Coalition Chair Ian May.
May says as companies look elsewhere, they may lock into agreements for a year or more. “In order to secure space on a ship, it’s not like ordering a taxi from the airport. One needs a longer term commitment.”
The port estimates the work stoppage by truckers could affect $885-million worth of cargo a week.
