Some 45,000 union workers could walk off the job at seaports on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts on Oct 1, cutting off vital trade arteries just weeks ahead of the nation's presidential election.
U.S. soybean and corn futures climbed to two-month highs on Tuesday, following broad gains in commodity and equity markets after China unveiled economic stimulus measures, but pared gains as forecasts called for improved crop weather in South America, analysts said.
While producers could feel the pinch of a strike at the Port of Vancouver's grain terminals within a week, the markets won't feel much of a hit unless the strike continues for three or four weeks, analysts said.
Grain terminal workers at the Port of Vancouver are on strike this morning as shown by video posted by local media on X. Video from CityNews Vancouver shows workers picketing outside of Viterra's Cascadia terminal.
Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures hit nearly a seven-week high on Monday as uncertainty about Brazilian planting weather and the size of the U.S. harvest sparked a round of fund-driven short-covering, analysts said.
The net fund short position in canola grew in mid-September, as speculative selling took the futures to contract lows, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
On Sept. 21, Grain Workers Union Local 333 issued a 72-hour strike notice to terminal operators represented by the Vancouver Terminal Elevators Association (VTEA). According to a letter posted to the union's Facebook page, workers will walk off the job on Tuesday morning.
LDC, one of the world's largest crop traders and processors whose competitors include ADM, Bunge and Cargill, said its core earnings (EBITDA) were $1.057 billion (C$1.434 billion) in the first six months of 2024, against $1.169 billion (C$1.586 billion) a year earlier.