Seaway strike would hurt grain farmers in western Canada
September 23, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Source: Trading Markets
A strike by St. Lawrence Seaway employees would result in a loss of east coast shipping capacity at a time when western Canadian producers can least afford it, according to an industry source.
“It’s a prime time for western Canadian producers to market their grain and oilseed crops and to sell those commodities onto the world market at a good value,” Rick Steinke, Director of logistics, for the Canadian Wheat Board, said.
Grain and oilseeds from western Canada are generally railed to port facilities at Thunder Bay, Ontario. From there the grain and oilseeds are generally transferred from Thunder Bay terminals to east coast transfer elevators located at the mouth of the St. Lawrence Seaway system by laker vessels. Some smaller ocean going vessels can also load at Thunder Bay terminals.
“Our understanding is that if the strike by the St. Lawrence workers goes ahead, it will be very difficult to move grain through the St. Lawrence Seaway without the seaway management corporation employees,” Steinke said. “We need them to operate the locks and allow for the flow of products.”
