Skip to content
Search AI Powered
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

Canada shuts down port strike as backlogs grow

Federal regulator orders Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to mandate binding arbitration between feuding parties.

port of montreal docks
Ben Ames
By Ben AmesNov 13, 2024
Ben Ames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
See Full Bio

Canadian government regulators have stepped in to end port strikes on both the country’s East and West coasts, with Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon forcing the reopening of shipping facilities by ordering the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to mandate binding arbitration, according to published reports.

In taking that step, the Canadian government cited growing economic damage and the potential for driving away trading partners if operations remained stopped at major ports like Vancouver and Montreal.

Following that move, port operations expected to resume soon, and mechanics have already been dispatched to service equipment and cranes, ensuring readiness for prompt resumption according to an update from Noatum Logistics. Terminals will likely receive clearance to resume all operations by Wednesday night or Thursday, following final approval from the CIRB to officially return to full operational status, Noatum said.

The weeklong strike followed workers’ demands for protection against automation, better work-life balance, and a cost-of-living crisis. It has already triggered delays and backups at nearby U.S. ports as shippers scrambled to find new routes for imports.

ArticleEditorialTransportationMaritime & OceanOther ServicesSC Services
port of vancouverport of montreal
ArticleEditorialTransportationMaritime & OceanOther ServicesSC Services
port of vancouverport of montreal

The Latest

chart of women's portion of transport and storage jobs
Labor

Women hold only 12% of transportation and storage jobs worldwide

More Stories

chart of industrial real estate warehouse leases

CBRE: 2024 saw rise in leases of “mega distribution centers”

The industrial real estate market saw a significant increase in leases of “mega distribution centers” measuring 1 million square feet or more in 2024, according to a report from CBRE analyzing last year’s 100 largest industrial & logistics leases.

Occupiers signed leases for 49 such mega distribution centers last year, up from 43 in 2023. However, the 2023 total had marked the first decline in the number of mega distribution center leases, which grew sharply during the pandemic and peaked at 61 in 2022.

Keep ReadingShow less

How clever is that chatbot?

Oh, you work in logistics, too? Then you’ve probably met my friends Truedi, Lumi, and Roger.

No, you haven’t swapped business cards with those guys or eaten appetizers together at a trade-show social hour. But the chances are good that you’ve had conversations with them. That’s because they’re the online chatbots “employed” by three companies operating in the supply chain arena—TrueCommerce, Blue Yonder, and Truckstop. And there’s more where they came from. A number of other logistics-focused companies—like ChargePoint, Packsize, FedEx, and Inspectorio—have also jumped in the game.

Keep ReadingShow less
White House in washington DC

Experts: U.S. companies need strategies to pay costs of Trump tariffs

With the hourglass dwindling before steep tariffs threatened by the new Trump Administration will impose new taxes on U.S. companies importing goods from abroad, organizations need to deploy strategies to handle those spiraling costs.

American companies with far-flung supply chains have been hanging for weeks in a “wait-and-see” situation to learn if they will have to pay increased fees to U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement agents for every container they import from certain nations. After paying those levies, companies face the stark choice of either cutting their own profit margins or passing the increased cost on to U.S. consumers in the form of higher prices.

Keep ReadingShow less
phone screen of online grocery order

Houchens Food Group taps eGrowcery for e-com grocery tech

Grocery shoppers at select IGA, Price Less, and Food Giant stores will soon be able to use an upgraded in-store digital commerce experience, since store chain operator Houchens Food Group said it would deploy technology from eGrowcery, provider of a retail food industry white-label digital commerce platform.

Kentucky-based Houchens Food Group, which owns and operates more than 400 grocery, convenience, hardware/DIY, and foodservice locations in 15 states, said the move would empower retailers to rethink how and when to engage their shoppers best.

Keep ReadingShow less
solar panels in a field

J.B. Hunt launches solar farm to power its three HQ buildings

Supply chain solution provider J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. has launched a large-scale solar facility that will generate enough electricity to offset up to 80% of the power used by its three main corporate campus buildings in Lowell, Arkansas.

The 40-acre solar facility in Gentry, Arkansas, includes nearly 18,000 solar panels and 10,000-plus bi-facial solar modules to capture sunlight, which is then converted to electricity and transmitted to a nearby electric grid for Carroll County Electric. The facility will produce approximately 9.3M kWh annually and utilize net metering, which helps transfer surplus power onto the power grid.

Keep ReadingShow less
Copyright ©2025.