Nutrien Ltd. announced on July 11 that it has curtailed production at its Cory potash mine in Saskatchewan due to the loss of export capacity through Canpotex’s Neptune terminal resulting from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada strike at the Port of Vancouver.
A tentative agreement was reportedly reached late on July 13 between the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and the ILWU, which represents roughly 7,400 dockworkers who walked off the job on July 1 (GM July 7, p. 1). The BCMEA issued a statement on July 13 saying the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert would reopen “as soon as possible.”
The nearly two-week strike has disrupted shipments of goods and commodities through Vancouver and Prince Rupert, Canada’s first and third busiest ports. The labor action has “potentially disrupted” C$7.5 billion ($5.7 billion) in cargo and prompted at least two vessels to divert to ports on the US west coast, the BCMEA said on July 10.
“The disruption at the Port of Vancouver has resulted in the curtailment of production at our Cory potash mine and, if prolonged, could also impact production at our other potash mines in Saskatchewan,” said Ken Seitz, Nutrien President and CEO. “We urge the parties in this dispute to come to a swift resolution to prevent further damage to the Canadian economy.”
Nutrien did not quantify the extent of the curtailment at Cory, which has a nameplate production capacity of 3 million mt/y and posted an operational capability of 2.1 million mt/y in 2022, according to the company. Cory is one of six Nutrien potash mines in Saskatchewan, with the others located at Allan, Lanigan, Patience Lake, Rocanville, and Vanscoy.
Located in North Vancouver, Neptune Terminals currently handles potash and Canadian steelmaking coal for export to international markets, and is owned by Canpotex Bulk Terminals Ltd. and Teck Coal Partnership, a subsidiary of Teck Resources Ltd. the 71-acre facility has the capacity to handle over 23.5 million mt/y of bulk products.
Nutrien said it expects full-year 2023 potash adjusted EBITDA to fall below the bottom end of its previous guidance range due to the dockworkers’ strike, a month’s long outage at Canpotex’s Portland, Ore., bulk terminal (GM May 5, p. 13), and lower global potash prices than previously anticipated. The company plans to release its second quarter results on Aug. 2, 2023.
In a show of solidarity with the Canada ILWU, Unionized US dockworkers announced on July 10 that they would not unload cargo bound for Canada, Bloomberg reported. The move by US dockworkers to refuse container ships that were rerouted from Vancouver could damage “the reliability and competitiveness of West Coast ports up and down the coast,” the BCMEA said.
Details of the tentative agreement were not made public on July 13, but the striking ILWU members were reportedly seeking an 11% wage increase in the first year, a 6% increase in the second year, a C$8,000 signing bonus, and protections against contracting out work and automation, the Globe and Mail reported. The BCMEA reported on July 8 that it had offered a revised proposal with increased benefits for casual tradespeople, increased apprenticeships, and a tool allowance.
The strike prompted demands from business and industry groups for the Canadian government to enact back-to-work legislation unless the parties reached an immediate agreement. Fertilizer Canada issued a statement on July 5 calling on the federal government to take immediate action to end the work stoppage.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, which is being supported by a labor-friendly opposition party in a minority parliament, pushed instead for a negotiated settlement. Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan on July 11 instructed a federal mediator to draft the terms of an agreement within 24 hours. Both sides reportedly received the recommended settlement on July 12 and were then allowed an additional 24 hours to review the terms.
The strike caused container cargo shipments to plummet, with just 17 containers shipped out of the Port of Vancouver by rail on July 10, down from 1,788 the day the strike began, according to data provider RailState.