Canadian Railway Workers General Strike
It has been reported that the Canadian Railway Union has issued a strike notice to the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway Company (CPKC) on August 18th, anticipating that the company's approximately 3,300 union-represented railroad workers will stop work beginning at 00:01 a.m. on Thursday, August 22nd, 2024, unless the parties are able to sign a new agreement. In response, CPKC said it will have all unionized workers conduct a work stoppage beginning Thursday.
The threat of a rail strike would directly affect Canadian ports, which handle a large volume of intermodal cargo into the United States. The B.C. Chamber of Shipping reports that it has already begun to lose market share from the Port of Vancouver to other West Coast ports. And about two-thirds of the port's throughput needs to be shipped by rail.
U.S. freight forwarder C.H. Robinson said Monday it is shifting some of its U.S. customers' ocean cargo away from Canadian ports because of the looming threat of a rail strike. About 80 percent of the shifted customer cargo is now being exported through the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports and the rest through the Seattle/Tacoma ports, the company said. In addition, the company emphasized that if CN and CPKC were to shut down at the same time, the gateway ports would be paralyzed.
Shipping giant Maersk posted a reminder on its website about the Canadian rail workers' strike and said it will continue to accept bookings to and from Canada, including ocean, rail, truck and air freight.
Australian port workers strike
It's not just Canada, but Australia has been caught up in the tension of a recent workers' strike. Port workers at the Port of Fremantle, one of Australia's busiest ports, began strike action on the morning of August 18th that lasted 48 hours. While that strike action has ended, a new crisis is looming. The Fremantle Port Authority has announced that it has received notice of a further strike at the port and that the new strike will last for 48 hours, starting on Sunday, August 25 at 05:30am local time.
The Port of Fremantle is WA's largest and busiest cargo port and the strike is expected to significantly delay the movement of goods in and out of the port. The Fremantle Port Authority has planned further consultations with the Maritime Services Negotiating Team in an attempt to reach an agreement before the next round of strike action begins. The Port Authority hopes to engage in good faith dialogue with the unions to find a solution and avoid further disruption.
Nigeria Labor Congress Strike
The Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC) has also reportedly announced plans for a nationwide strike and protest beginning at 00:01 on August 21st.
The strike is expected to disrupt various sectors including transportation, utilities, government services, business operations and healthcare. Protests are likely to occur along major roadways, near government buildings, and at transportation hubs such as ports.
Cargo owners and forwarders with recent shipments to the above countries are reminded that they also need to keep abreast of local port dynamics, pay attention to cargo node information, and adjust their plans according to the latest transportation situation to avoid unnecessary losses.
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