FourKites data shows protest by Canadian antivax truckers had limited impact on supply chain

AMSTERDAM–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Latest data from FourKites illustrates the impacts of vaccination mandates and subsequent protests on shipping volumes and on-time deliveries had some effect, but no major disruption to the U.S. or Canadian economy or market trucking.

Average wait times between the United States and Canada increased by 17% in mid-January, followed by 26% at the end of the month. As of February 10, wait times for travel from Canada to the United States were trending up 23%, while travel from the United States to Canada was trending up over 40% for shipments Monday/Tuesday compared to Monday/Tuesday of the previous week. All of this translated into on-time delivery volatility, which as of February 8 was trending down slightly for travel from Canada to the United States, and down almost 10% for travel from the States. United to Canada for Monday/Tuesday shipments, versus Monday/Tuesday of the previous week.

There was a significant decrease in shipping volume across the border from mid to late January, with consecutive drops of 7% in the weeks of January 15 and January 22. In mid-February, truck shipments to the United States from Canada rebounded by about 23%, likely due to Canadian exporters trying to expedite freight blocked by protests as well as winter storms . Travel from the United States to Canada also rebounded 15%.

Downstream impacts

Although FourKites have yet to see any large-scale impacts in Canada or the United States, the situation remains volatile near the border. Notably, the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, was closed for nearly a week. This bridge handles about 8,000 trucks a day – about 25% of trade between the United States and Canada – which means its closure has had an outsized impact.

The shutdown has driven up costs, with full truckload spot rates soaring. If additional protests cause disruption for an extended period, FourKites may see a larger impact on intra-Canadian truckload prices and a slight impact on prices in the United States.

The number of rerouted trucks also increased for Canada-US and US-Canada trips. At the height of the disruption on February 8, trucks traveling in both directions were driving up to 9% further to cover the same ground as before the protests. Since then, the distance traveled has decreased by 2% more than the pre-mandate average from Canada to the United States, and by 4% more than the pre-mandate average from the United States to Canada .

Hope for a resolution?

While the bottleneck caused by the closure of the Ambassador Bridge has been resolved, protests and delays continue to spread, prompting stakeholders up and down the supply chain to fill the gaps. And shippers are applying the lessons they’ve learned time and time again over the past two years to stay nimble and mitigate the impact. Companies that have real-time visibility into their shipments are best equipped to respond quickly, being alerted to potential delays, communicating across their networks, and finding alternate shipping routes to keep goods flowing. .

Editor’s Note: To see more graphs of this data, go to: https://www.fourkites.com/blogs/border-blockade-the-latest-supply-chain-impacts-from-ongoing- trucker-protests/

About FourKites

FourKites® is the #1 supply chain visibility platform in the world, extending visibility beyond transportation into jobsites, warehouses, stores and beyond. Tracking over 2.5 million daily shipments by road, rail, ocean, air, parcel and courier, and reaching 176 countries, FourKites combines real-time data and powerful machine learning to help businesses digitize their chains end-to-end supply. More than 1,000 of the world’s most recognized brands, including 9 of the top 10 CPGs and 18 of the top 20 food and beverage companies, trust FourKites to transform their business and create more agile, efficient and sustainable supply chains. To learn more, visit https://www.fourkites.com/.