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別のチャンネルが閉じた！

On the 22nd local time, workers in Canada’s St. Lawrence Seaway launched strike action, resulting in the closure of the seaway.
The St. Lawrence Seaway is an important waterway for trade between Canada and the United States, so what is the potential economic impact of the closure of the Seaway?

Let’s take a look at the details from CNBC’s Jiang Yu in Singapore.

The largest private sector union in Canada, uniform, said that at midnight local time on October 22, 361 workers represented by the union in Canada’s St. Lawrence Seaway began to strike. Canada’s St. Lawrence Seaway is an important waterway for Canada and the United States, connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean, and is an integrated water transportation system that includes lock canals and shipping lanes. The shutdown caused by the strike will also have an impact on the transportation of goods in the United States and Canada.

The union says the wage issue is the key to the impasse in negotiations. The union wants workers’ wages to keep up with inflation. The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Company, which represents the management, said any wage increase could lead to higher seaway tolls.

Although they want to negotiate in good faith with the unions, progress has been slow, with the operation of the locks most affected by the strike. The function of the lock is to ensure that the ship can move safely and accurately between different water levels.

This is critical to the Seaway’s operations, which the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Company says will remain closed until an agreement is reached with the union.

The transportation of goods by sea is an important part of the North American economy and supply chain. About $16.7 billion worth of cargo passed through the waterway last year. Nearly half of them are grains and iron ore, so some analysts pointed out that in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and extreme weather frequent environment, the strike action will further hit the grain transport link.

A strike would not only disrupt the flow of goods but could also have a knock-on effect on many industries, including agriculture, that rely on sea transport. The Port of Montreal Authority also said in a statement Sunday that the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway systems serve 75 percent of Canada’s manufacturing capacity and nearly two-thirds of Canada’s population. Supply chain disruptions caused by a prolonged strike at a port in British Columbia this summer have severely affected small and medium-sized businesses in Canada.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said: “At a time when smes are facing many challenges such as inflationary Labour shortages, debt burdens and weak demand, the latest seaway workers’ strike may further lead to the loss of sales and inventory.”

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce also said that the St. Lawrence Seaway supports more than 66,000 jobs in Canada and generates economic benefits of 34 million Canadian dollars (about 180 million yuan) every day, and any strike will hurt the Canadian economy and increase inflation in Canada.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is now also urging the Canadian government to intervene immediately, while the Canadian Federation of Independent Business wants the government to ensure the Seaway remains fully operational during the negotiations.

Keep a close watch on the progress of the strike negotiations.