Breaking News – Canadian West Coast Ports Reopen and Wild Weather in the US
- Maggie Mildenberger
- Jul 14, 2023
- 2 min read
News broke yesterday afternoon that Canadian Pacific Ports will re-open as ILWU Canada accepted a “tentative wage deal”. The Canadian Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan stepped in mid-week and said "[T]he differences between the two sides no longer warranted the work stoppage.” He then offered final terms drafted by a federal mediator.
Both parties agreed to the terms on Thursday, and workers went back to work at the backed-up ports as of 4:30 PM PST July 13th. Terms of the agreement have not been released, as the ILWU needs to go through the ratification process which could take months.
Maritime Executive reports that 8 or 9 containerships are currently waiting near Vancouver Port, with another 4 waiting at Prince Rupert. “The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses said in a statement that it could take months to fully clear the supply chain backlogs that resulted from the nearly two-week strike. Others including from Canada’s two major railroads said it would be weeks before everything was moving again.”
We are pleasantly surprised to see the strike resolved so quickly, and we will continue to monitor the ratification process on the Canadian West Coast Ports as the ratification process continues.
Shifting our focus back to the U.S., there is extreme weather in all parts of the country. In a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, June had quite a few “significant climate anomalies and events”. NOAA selected a few of the most significant events to show on the map below:
July has brought it’s fair share of events across the U.S., from heatwaves in the southwest, to extreme flooding in Vermont, and tornadoes in Illinois. While these events, so far, are not expected to impact freight routes or shipping, it is important to keep in mind especially with cross-country shipments.
Check out our post for a few resources we use to keep on top of these events, and as always if you are concerned please reach out to us and we would be happy to help!
