July 24, 2024 – The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate to 4.5 percent on Wednesday, with governor Tiff Macklem saying during a news conference that it would be reasonable to expect further rate cuts if inflation continues to ease. The cut was widely expected by economists after inflation eased in June. It marked the central bank’s second consecutive cut after last month’s meeting, when it cut rates for the first time since March 2020. "If inflation continues to ease broadly in line with our forecast, it is reasonable to expect further cuts in our policy interest rate," Macklem told reporters.
July 22, 2024 – The association representing East and Gulf Coast port employers said Thursday “there is forward movement” toward resolving some of the issues that have recently stalled talks. Labour contract negotiations hit a bump in June when the International Longshoremen’s Association canceled a planned meeting with employers association United States Maritime Alliance – more simply known as USMX – citing the use of automated truck gates at multiple ports. Since then, shippers and other stakeholders have expressed fears a labour deal will not be reached before the contract expires on September 30.
July 19, 2024 – A major IT outage that is affecting large corporations around the world is having an effect on cargo operations worldwide. Canaan Transport has not been directly impacted by the incident with CrowdStrike but many of our vendors and partners have been impacted. We will advise if there are any issues with our client’s shipments directly.
July 18, 2024 – Over 1,500 tonnes of export-import cargo is waiting at Dhaka Airport in Bangladesh, following a three-day strike by clearing and forwarding (C&F) agents protesting against the introduction of an express delivery system. The customs authority introduced a new rule on June 6 allowing courier services to assess cargo weighing below 30kg themselves, which helped importers receive cargo within two days – which also allowed for faster exports – but meant C&F agents lost business. Shipments handled by C&F agents are slower; importers must wait around a week for their cargo, resulting in factories being forced to delay production. The C&F agents temporarily suspended the strike on Tuesday, but warned they would strike again next Monday unless a memorandum of understanding facilitating their business is signed by Sunday. Boxes have piled up at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), exacerbated by a government holiday following the strike, meaning cargo was not delivered for four days. Stakeholders say it will take at least a week to clear the backlog.
July 12, 2024 – The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) informed CPKC and CN today that it intends to issue its decision regarding the Ministerial Referral on the maintenance of activities by Friday, August 9. The CIRB will issue the decision without holding oral hearings. This development helps provide some predictability regarding the timelines for a potential work stoppage because the parties cannot legally take strike or lockout action prior to the CIRB issuing its decision and must then provide a minimum of 72 hours’ notice. The railways have asked the CIRB to extend the cooling-off period by 30 days and has proposed to the union that the parties resolve this labour dispute through binding arbitration. In summary, this means that the earliest a strike may happen is the 2nd week of August. Canaan Transport will be doing our best to mitigate any delays if a strike were to occur.
July 6, 2024 – Despite the union issuing 72 hours strike notice, please be advised that the union is not allowed to strike and that the Industrial Relations Board has requested that the union rescind the strike notice, which it has done.
July 5, 2024 – The union representing Canada’s border workers says members have voted 91 percent in favour of a new collective agreement. More than 9,000 Canada Border Services Agency workers were planning job action in June but the strike was averted when a tentative agreement was reached with the federal government. The vote solidifies the new collective agreement, preventing a strike that could have brought commercial border traffic to a standstill and caused major delays across the country.
June 29, 2024 – There has not been much information on the potential rail strike. Here is the latest update from CPKC:
“We are still awaiting a decision from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) regarding the Federal Minister of Labour’s referral on the maintenance of activities during a strike or lockout. We know our supply chain stakeholders want certainty regarding the expected timing of a CIRB decision and potential work stoppage; however, it remains unclear when the CIRB will issue a decision. Based on precedent, it is unlikely the parties will be in a position to initiate a legal strike or lockout before mid-July or later. In any event, a legal strike or lockout cannot occur unless a minimum of 72 hours’ notice is provided under the Canada Labour Code. CPKC has requested that the CIRB extend the cooling-off period for 30 days after the date on which the CIRB issues its decision. This would help provide stability and predictability regarding the timelines for a potential work stoppage and allow all stakeholders to plan for such an eventuality. CPKC’s offer to resolve the current labour dispute with the TCRC through binding interest arbitration in order to avoid a damaging and entirely unnecessary work stoppage remains on the table, as do CPKC’s two collective agreement proposals."
June 26, 2024 – In the past 2 months, freight rates have been rising for the transpacific east bound trade and many shippers have inquired to us as to whether or not this trend will continue. Certainly our clients have had some challenges securing space and equipment in the current period, as this is an industry wide issue due to the carrier’s attempts to limit tonnage and artificially increase the ocean freight rates but Canaan believes that we are seeing an early peak season with many shippers trying to avoid empty shelves in the 4th quarter or the risk of the rail or port strikes that we were advising against.
Our early prediction is that rates will continue to rise in July and will start to level off in August and a drop may happen as early as October 2024.
More news as it develops..
June 20, 2024 – The union representing more than 9,000 CN and CPKC workers has organized a second strike vote amid stalled contract negotiations with the railroads. “It is clear we cannot rely on a timely conclusion to these unfortunate circumstances and must protect our rights regardless of outcome,” the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) said in a news release. On May 1, CN and CPKC rail workers voted to authorize a strike that could have begun on May 22. Canadian Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan referred the rail worker dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) on May 13, indefinitely pausing any possible work stoppage until the CIRB issues a decision on the potential impacts a strike could have on the country’s safety.
TCRC’s second strike vote began Friday and will end on June 29, as the current strike mandate is set to expire on June 30. Canadian labour laws prohibit unions from declaring a strike unless its members have approved walking off the job in the previous 60 days.