Cargo flow at B.C. ports should be back to normal in coming days, researcher says

A logistics researcher said it should take only days for cargo flow to return to pre-strike levels at B.C. ports after a 13-day work stoppage ended with a tentative deal.

A logistics researcher said it should take only days for cargo flow to return to pre-strike levels at B.C. ports after a 13-day work stoppage ended with a tentative deal.

Simon Fraser University Prof. Peter V. Hall said the strike of 7,400 International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada workers could have happened at a worse time, such as the pre-Christmas import spike or peak grain export season.

“I'm sure that there will be someone who will be able to say their specific container of something they needed is delayed several weeks, because that's inevitable,” Hall said.

“But we shouldn't rely on specific cases. The majority of what needs to move will move very quickly.”

The union and the B.C. Maritime Employers Association reached a tentative deal to resume port operations on Thursday. The association said it would last four years.

University of British Columbia associate Prof. Werner Antweiler said it may take several weeks for all backlogs from the strike to be cleared.

Antweiler said Port of Vancouver statistics showed more than 10 ships waiting to be unloaded at anchor on Friday after idle port operations reduced that number to nearly zero at the start of July.