August 24, 2020 – Longshore workers at the Port of Montreal headed back to work on Sunday, after a truce declared in a labour dispute allowed activities to resume after a 12-day strike. The two sides announced on Friday that they’d reached a deal putting the labour action on hold. The deal lays out a seven-month period where talks will continue without a threat of work stoppage. Both sides said they’re confident a deal can be ironed out before March 20, 2021, at which point the agreement would end.
August 21, 2020 – The Port of Montreal will be resuming normal operations, ending an 11 day-old strike. The Maritime Employers Association announced this afternoon that a truce, for a seven months period, has been agreed to with the Montreal Stevedores Union. Earlier today, an agreement was also reached with the Montreal Checkers Union. The Maritime Employers Association will be communicating more details on the return to work schedule, so that shipping lines can take the appropriate steps to adjust their vessel schedules.
August 21, 2020 – Management and union parties reached a partial agreement yesterday as to the fate of some of the 477 shipping containers sitting in the Port of Montreal amid a longshore workers’ strike. Under the agreement, "anything dangerous or related to COVID-19 will be taken out quickly by longshoremen," the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said. As for the other containers among the 477, they will be "studied one at a time, in order to judge their urgency," said the union. The MEA said a partial agreement was confirmed "to move containers of controlled products, merchandise related to COVID-19 and unload a sugar shipment."
The group added that "containers of refrigerated products are still the subject of discussions and a joint decision will be made shortly" on the subject.
August 17, 2020 – Due to the ongoing Longshoremen’s strike at the Port of Montreal, berthage services and cargo handling normally provided by dockworkers are suspended at several Port of Montreal terminals.
If you are currently expecting to receive goods at the Port of Montreal or to export goods internationally, your shipment will be delayed. Negotiations are ongoing, but a resolution to this labour dispute between the Maritime Employers Association (MEA), and the Longshoremen’s Union, CUPE Local 375 must be reached quickly in order to avoid further damage.
August 17, 2020 – The air cargo market is building up pricing momentum towards the fourth quarter, putting all-cargo carriers and airlines with cargo-only passenger freighters in a strong position relative to shippers. Freight rates have climbed since early July with the slow return of international passenger capacity combined with consistent growth in cargo shipments as the global economy, notably in China, continues to recover from the coronavirus. Export demand to the U.S. and Canada is very high, as is traffic from Shanghai and Singapore to Europe, according to various reports and our own internal figures. Overall, rates from Asia to North America and Erurope are rising.
August 16, 2020 – The coming week will show how well the Port of Montreal recovers from a few weeks of strike action. Although no strike action has been announced or planned, we continue to advise customers to be patient as delays will inevitably occur as a result of this recovery from the labour shutdown.
August 12, 2020 – Canada’s labour minister has rejected requests to intervene in a strike launched Monday by Port of Montreal workers. “We have faith in the collective bargaining process, as we know the best deals are made at the table,” Filomena Tassi said in a statement. “Our government’s clear expectation is for both parties to work together to resolve their differences quickly. We will be monitoring the situation closely, and looking into how to support the ongoing mediation efforts.” Canaan Transport urges that something be done about this situation which has inconvenienced our customers.
August 11, 2020 – Until a truce can be reached, all containerized activities at the Port of the Montreal will continue to be fully paralyzed – this extends to rail, truck and vessel operations. In light of this disappointing situation, MGT confirms that storage will be extended for the duration of the Union’s decision to strike. The following vessels have now been diverted: MSC Rochelle, OOCL Belgium, MSC Martina, M.V. Detroit Express and M.V. Montreal Express.
August 10, 2020 – The U.S. will reinstate 10% tariffs on raw aluminum imports from Canada beginning August 16. The move follows a May 2019 decision to remove tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports, saying the imports no longer threatened national security. In response, Canada will impose tariffs on $2.7 billion worth of imports from the U.S., Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday. The response is "dollar for dollar," she said. "We will not escalate, and we will not back down." U.S. aluminum producers importing from Canada will have to pay the raw aluminum tariffs, and those costs could trickle down to manufacturers procuring aluminum parts or packaging domestically. That might encourage U.S. manufacturers to seek aluminum products from outside the U.S. at a lower total cost, making U.S. aluminum producers less competitive when selling their products to industrial customers, according to The Aluminum Association.
August 9, 2020 – As we head into another week with the Port of Montreal under strike action, many carriers are now offering services ex Halifax for export shipments. There will be additional charges for this option and we have been advising our customers on a case by case basis to see if this would be an option for urgent cargo. We will keep the community informed as the week progresses.