CME calls for reopening of Coutts border crossing
by CM Staff
It could take as long as a week or two to clear the backlogs even in the event that the blockade is lifted, further putting manufacturers on the backfoot and disrupting the supply chain.
OTTAWA — Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters has called the government to bring an immediate end to the trucker blockade at the Canada-U.S. border crossing at Coutts Alta.
According to CME, the blockade is costing about $44 million in trade between Canada and the U.S. every day.
The company also said that the Coutts-Sweet Grass crossing is Alberta’s most important connection to its largest market – the United States, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Between 800 and 1,200 trucks move goods across the border daily at this crossing CME also stated.
It’s estimated that about $15.9 billion in two-way trade goes through this single crossing every year with almost as many goods being exported as imported. Now, the snarled traffic and bottlenecks are further disrupting the supply chain, aggravating the manufacturing, oil and gas, agriculture, forestry, and retail industries.
“We were already in a supply chain crisis brought on by floods and pandemic related shortages, but this blockade is making a bad situation worse,” said David MacLean, Vice President of CME’s Alberta and Saskatchewan division in a statement.
“We need this situation to end so we can keep manufacturers working.”
MacLean said that costs and delays increase every additional day the blockade is in place. It could take as long as a week or two to clear the backlogs even in the event that the blockade is lifted, further putting manufacturers on the backfoot and disrupting the supply chain.
