Spotlight

Canadian teamsters authorize rail strike

The ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert could see disruption as soon as May 22 , after 98 % of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference ( TCRC ) voted to walk off the job unless a new labor contract is hammered out . Federal conciliators have tried since March 1 to negotiate a deal between Canadian Pacific Kansas City ( CPKC ), Canadian National Railway ( CN ) and TCRC without success . During a press conference May 1 , the Teamsters declined to answer whether the individual unions under the TCRC umbrella would strike simultaneously . Such a disruption would reverse the modest port performance improvement at Vancouver , where rail container dwell times were still five days or longer on average across the port ’ s four container terminals in late May , according to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority . The core issues in dispute include salaries , work-life balance and rest periods . Both CN and CPKC want to abolish the per-mile pay for conductors and engineers and replace it with an hourly wage . The railroads have said the new pay scale is “ modernized ” and will raise wages for employees , while the TCRC says more than half

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its workforce will earn less until the proposed changes take effect . The threat of rail strikes amid rail union contract negotiations in Canada aren ’ t atypical and agreements are often struck in the final hours , thanks to federal prodding . But container lines , railroad executives and forwarders have been warning since early 2024 that this negotiation cycle carries a higher risk . One former railroad executive who spoke anonymously gave the likelihood of a strike happening a 50-50 chance , adding that the industry wouldn ’ t know which way it would go until the last hours of May 21 . “ Paying by the hour versus paying by the miles would be a game changer in Canadian rail operations ,” he said . “ The union is not on board at this point .”

Carriers chase China – Mexico trade with new services

Ocean carriers are targeting the burgeoning China – Mexico trade with the launch of new services this month that coincide with soaring container volumes and growing investment in Mexico by Chinese companies . Cosco Shipping and OOCL , its Hong Kong-headquartered affiliate , are launching an express service between Asia and Mexico with a 15-day transit from Qingdao to Ensenada , Baja California , and 20 days from Qingdao to Manzanillo . Mediterranean Shipping Co ., meanwhile , is launching a shuttle starting from Qingdao that will call at Ningbo , Shanghai , Busan , Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas . The launch of the new services comes amid surging volumes between China and Mexico and an investment boom by Chinese companies in Mexico as part of wider nearshoring efforts in Central and South America . Peter Sand , chief analyst at rate benchmarking platform Xeneta , said China – Mexico was the fastest-growing container shipping trade in the first two months of 2024 , with a 60 % yearover-year increase in volumes in January alone . Scheduled container shipping capacity on the China – Mexico trade lane has also seen solid growth . Figures compiled by maritime consultant MDS Transmodal for the Journal of Commerce show deployed capacity surged 55 % to almost 1.8 million TEUs in the first quarter of this year compared with nearly 1.2 million TEUs in the first quarter of 2023 . This was reflected in Mexico ’ s port volumes , which climbed 20 % in the first quarter . The launch of the services coincides with moves by Chinese manufacturers to set up plants in Mexico , including construction equipment manufacturer Lingong Machinery Group , which is planning to invest $ 5 billion , and Trina Solar , which has announced a $ 1 billion spending program .

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