Avison Young warns of Montreal port strike impacts

MONTREAL — With dockworkers at the Port of Montreal in the third day of a proposed three-day strike, real estate analyst Avison Young has warned that repercussions of the job action will linger even if the work stoppage ends as planned the morning of Oct. 3.

The Canadian Press reported Oct. 2 that 320 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees remained off the job for the third day. Termont’s Viau and Maisonneuve terminals were affected.

Avison Young analyst Warren D’Souza commented, “With port workers on strike in Montreal, we anticipate significant delays between when an agreement could be reached and where labour and supply will recover.”

Each year, Avison Young stated, an average of 36 million tonnes of freight travel to and from Canada through the Port of Montreal, much of it consumer goods.

“Any disruption to this system has a ripple effect on the supply chain infrastructure, creating a significant strain and bottlenecks to the movement of goods that will need to be worked through and managed,” added D’Souza.