Consumers and smaller companies will feel pinch of port strike, business groups warn

By The Canadian Press on July 5, 2023.

Business groups are sounding the alarm that consumers and smaller companies will feel the impact of the B.C. port workers strike.

Industry organizations say the job action by 7,400 waterfront employees – now in its fifth day – will back up shipments, deplete inventories and boost prices on goods in shorter supply.

Dennis Darby, who heads the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters trade group, says the labour standoff will hurt small and medium-sized businesses more, since they have fewer resources and less leverage to lean on.

Jasmin Guénette, vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, says undelivered perishable goods could mean retailers lose out on sales, while contracts are also at risk if products are not received on time.

Bob Ballantyne, senior adviser and past president at the Freight Management Association of Canada, says consumers could eventually see higher prices in sectors ranging from clothing to cars, and that exporters may soon face a storage crisis.

Dock workers walked off the job Saturday before negotiations over wages, automation and contracting out hit a deadlock at ports that handle 16 per cent of the country’s total traded goods.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2023.

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