Supporters for a convoy of truckers driving from British Columbia to Ottawa in protest of a Covid-19 … [+]
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As the protests that Canadian truckers are staging against Covid mandates continue, concerns about the impact the protests are having on a fragile supply chain are growing.
A call for action issued this week by a group of Canadian business associations put it this way:
“Canada’s economy is being threatened as thousands of trucks and millions of dollars in cross-border trade that typically go through these entry points every day is being disrupted. Our borders are essential trade arteries that feed businesses and Canadians with essential goods, food, medicine, and critical industrial components that fuel our economy and support our critical infrastructure.
“Ongoing interruptions at Canadian border crossings and on key trade corridors will exacerbate supply chain disruptions. All levels of government must work together to develop tailored solutions for each unique border crossing in Canada to prevent future disruptions.”
Early Impact
The protests are already impacting some major companies.
The New York Times reported that, “Ford, G.M., Honda and Toyota have curtailed manufacturing in the U.S. and Canada in recent days. For an industry still wrestling with semiconductor shortages and supply chain chaos, ‘this is just bad news on top of bad news,’ said Peter Nagle, an analyst who covers the car industry at IHS Markit. It also could have implications for the economy as a whole, since soaring auto prices, an important factor keeping inflation high during the pandemic (more on that below), have recently shown signs of abating.”
The newspaper observed that, “The disruptions are starting to have an economic toll. The U.S. and Canada exchange $140 million worth of cars and parts every day. Small parts suppliers, independent truckers and auto industry workers are likely to feel the most pain. ‘If it stretches on for weeks it could be catastrophic,” Nagle said.
“’Auto factories in the U.S. typically keep at least two weeks of materials on hand, so if the disruptions last longer than that, ‘then you’re looking at layoffs,’ said Carla Bailo of the Center for Automotive Research.”
Heading To The Super Bowl?
On February 8, the Department of Homeland Security said it had received reports of truck drivers planning to potentially block roads in major metropolitan cities in the United States in protest of, among other things, vaccine mandates for truck drivers.”
According to USA TODAY, “The ‘Internal Use Only” report was prepared by the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis’s Current and Emerging Threats Center, or CETC. It said the convoy will potentially begin in California as early as mid-February, with designs on potentially disrupting the Super Bowl, which is scheduled for Sunday at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area.”
Advice For Business Leaders
Vet Logistics Providers
Sean Cox is a labor and employment attorney at Hall Booth Smith. He said that, “For business leaders, the protests are an inflection point of a long-standing obstacle. However, motor carriers, large and small, have been successful navigating the shortage of qualified drivers by focusing precisely on the causes of driver frustration.
“In the face of the current truck driver protests it’s time for business leaders to deeply vet logistics providers to see how they are addressing those underlying driver satisfaction concerns. Typical logistics metrics, price, shipping time, quality, and on-time completion, are all meaningless if there aren’t sufficient drivers to make the delivery.”
