Peter Hall is asssociate professor of urban studies at Simon Fraser University – and a contributor to the goods-movement section of Next-Generation Transportation. Details of the certificate program here.
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In this Sun op-ed, Peter provides an insightful analysis of what’s happening at the port – and why truckers use the Pattullo Bridge instead or Port Mann:
Here we go again — first it was 1999, then 2005, and now — truckers serving Vancouver ports are striking.
We have a stake in how this dispute is resolved but it is not the stake that Port Metro Vancouver and much of the reporting on this labour dispute suggest. …
My research with immigrant port truckers revealed many of them left long-haul trucking; stable rates made it possible for these experienced drivers to make a living and be home each night with their families. But in 2011 and 2012 when we were conducting interviews, these drivers were complaining that the system was broken. Research by Phil Davies for the Asia Pacific Skills Table confirmed that by 2013, port truckers were earning significantly less that other truckers in the region.
The system is broken, and there is blame all-around. … we have created a gateway economy that shifts the risks of supply chain disruptions to the weakest link in the chain. Delays, for weather, human error, equipment breakdown or congestion are inevitable. Under the current system, port truckers must make a minimum number of trips each day to make a living. If there is any kind of delay, they are the ones who bear the financial cost, not terminal operators, not shippers, not the port authority, not even consumers; at least, not until the truckers decide to go on strike.
But, wait, there’s more: When truckers find their livelihoods threatened, they act in ways that harm quality of life in our region. They drive faster, they cut corners on vehicle maintenance, they park their trucks in neighbourhoods overnight so they can be first in line at the terminal, and they extend their working hours beyond what is safe and family-friendly. And they make route-choices that undermine the over-all efficiency of the region’s transportation system: they straddle two lanes of the Pattullo rather than taking the new Port Mann because they can’t afford the toll.
A regularized employment model for port trucking would entail slightly higher costs for shippers and carriers that might be passed on to consumers. But for the residents of this region, that is a price worth paying. When truckers bear the risks of supply-chain uncertainty, we pay the costs.
