A lockout of longshoremen could affect Vancouver Island ports serving forestry operations and taking delivery of cargo from container ships, including new vehicles arriving at the Nanaimo port, says the B.C. Maritime Employers Association. As of Monday, about 20 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 were affected by the lockout in Nanaimo and at Duke Point, along with about 70 in Prince Rupert and hundreds more in Metro Vancouver, the union said. Ian Marr, president and chief executive of the Port of Nanaimo, which has a large vehicle processing centre, said pickets are up at the port’s downtown location and at Duke Point. The Seaspan Garibaldi is waiting at the downtown port and another vessel that arrived to pick up logs is also there, he said. “It did load some logs in the last few days but hasn’t completed [the work].” 

The Port of Prince Rupert is experiencing disruptions following the issuing of a 72-hour strike notice by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Ship & Dock Foremen Local 514 (ILWU Local 514) and the subsequent 72-hour lockout notice issued by the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA). The Prince Rupert Port Authority encourages both groups to reach an agreement rapidly. Canada’s west coast trade … depends on quickly reaching a resolution that keeps goods moving through its ports. The Port of Prince Rupert has built a global reputation as a reliable North American port and a strategic gateway for trade. Maintaining the trust and confidence of shippers is critical to our competitive advantage. Two out of seven terminals at the Port of Prince Rupert will be directly impacted – Fairview Container Terminal operated by DP World and Westview Wood Pellet Terminal operated by Drax Group. 

Michael Armstrong

Vancouver, B.C. – Michael Armstrong, Vice President & Chief Forester of the BC Council of Forest Industries, issued a statement regarding the closure of B.C. ports: “With the disruptions to operations at West Coast ports, the BC Council of Forest Industries urges all parties – employers, unions, and both provincial and federal governments – to urgently collaborate on a swift resolution. These ports are an essential channel for British Columbia’s forestry sector … playing an indispensable role in global supply chains. With over $11 billion in exports in 2023, forest products account for nearly one-quarter of the province’s merchandise exports. Each day of disruption compounds delays, impacts business continuity and the livelihoods of workers and communities that depend on forestry.” …“Ensuring that B.C.’s exports reach customers promptly is essential for the health of the province’s economy. We urge swift action from all stakeholders to mitigate the impacts a prolonged disruption could have on jobs, local economies, and our sector’s stability.”

A second-term David Eby BC NDP government is “marginally better” than the alternative that appeared to be in the cards on election night, business leaders said last week. …In an open letter to the new government, seven business associations… urged the new government to take B.C.’s flagging economic health seriously, and get its fiscal house in order. …At last week’s Global Wood Summit, Rob Schuetz, president of Industrial Forestry Services, said 16 sawmills, three pulp mills and four paper mills have been shut down in B.C. since 2020. He gave a laundry list of NDP government policies that have reduced access to timber and increased costs and bureaucracy. …Don McGregor, VP for Western Forest Products, summed up a sentiment that may be shared by the wider resource business community. “If it sticks, the NDP have a majority and they don’t need the Green Party,” he said. “I would take that as a positive.”

Rob Schuetz

With North American lumber prices below break-even costs for many sawmills in Canada and the U.S., plus ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, recessionary conditions in China and declining timber supplies around the world, the global outlook for the forestry industry is not particularly rosy. In British Columbia, once North America’s forest-sector powerhouse, it seems downright dismal. And low lumber prices—a result of inflation and high interest rates squelching North American homebuilding—are only one of a myriad of challenges facing the industry. …A shrinking timber supply has turned B.C. into a high-cost jurisdiction. …In short, B.C. has an allowable annual cut that is increasingly not allowed to be cut. …Since the BC NDP came to power in 2017, the percentage of the AAC that is actually cut has fallen below 50 per cent, Rob Schuetz, president of Industrial Forest Services, said. …Even if lumber prices recover, Schuetz suggested B.C. producers will be in no position to capitalize on them.