Trucking association director says blockades aren't affecting Atlantic region's supply chain

Blockades along the border betweenCanada and the U.S. are straining the already-struggling supply chain, but the executive director of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association saysit isn't causing much trouble for Atlantic Canada just yet.

"Right now for us, we're not that impacted, but it could easily turn around in a moment,"said Jean-Marc Picard.

Picard saidblockades, like the one on Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, haven't affected the Atlantic provinces very much, as that route is primarily used for the transportation of automotive parts.

He said supply chain issues could be felt if a blockade were to form on one of the border crossings used for the Atlantic provinces, however, like the one between Woodstock, N.B., and Houlton, Maine.

"If that one is blocked or disrupted, thenwe would see some major, major impacts here," said Picard

The majority of goods in Atlantic Canada are brought to the area by land transport,Picard said, who addedmany deliveries originate in the U.S.

Picard said resources are being put in place to ensure there would be no impact if a blockade on an Atlantic Canadianborder crossing were to occur. However, he cautioned the situation could evolve quickly and there could still be trickle-down effects from blockades in other regions of the country.

"Most companies in Atlantic Canada will have trucks crossing the border in Ontario," hesaid.

"There's a truck that crosses the border every five seconds. However you slice and dice it, there's going to be impacts of some sort and there's always a trickle effect."

Picard said another factor is that drivers are only allowed todrive a certain number of hours per day, and their routes are planned without much flexibility.

"Adelay of some sort can impact deliveries fornot just that day, but for four or five days after that," he said.

Picard said protests are putting extra pressure on the already strained trucking industry, which was already dealing with a shortage of drivers. He said it was a tough January with a number of storms affecting shipping routes anda small number of drivers were lost due to the vaccine mandate. But he noted the vast majority of truck drivers are not participating in the protests.

"It looks bad on the trucking industry," he said. "Ninety-nine per centof the industry is continuing to do what they do, which is move goods like we have been throughout COVID. There's a small percentage that obviously feel different and they want to be heard and they want to disrupt the supply chain to to prove a point. We don't support that."

Picardsaid a lot of truckers in the industry have a message to send to the protesters: "We heard you, but it's time to move forward."

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