Trade associations in the U.S. and Canada have begun expressing their concerns about how strikes at West Coast Canadian ports will cause price increases and product delays as the work stoppage enters its tenth day.

For every day that the strike goes on, supply chains will need an additional three to five days in order fully to recover, according to estimates from the Railway Association of Canada.

Steve Lamar, the CEO of the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA), told CNBC that any supply chain disruptions — including the Canadian ports strike — could lead to inventory challenges and inflationary problems. He added that the AAFA’s biggest issue right now is accessing goods that are either stuck on boats or being redirected to other ports.

“The strike is affecting everyone, either directly for those companies who use British Columbia as a major transit center or an e-commerce hub, or indirectly, as cargo is diverted to other ports,” Lamar said. “The Canadian government should use all its tools, including recalling Parliament, to get people back to work and goods moving again.”

In June 2023, Bruce Rodgers, the executive director of the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA), wrote a letter to Canadian Minister of Labor Seamus O’Regan stating that it is difficult to think of “a more disruptive event to Canada’s economy at this time than a work stoppage in our ports.”

The vice president of drayage and intermodal at ITS Logistics, Paul Brashier, said that the organization has seen many containers rebooked to U.S. ports from western Canada to counteract the effects of the strike, “which is pushing costs up as much as 50% to 60%.” The rerouted containers will “congest markets with additional volumes that were not planned for,” leading to higher costs including fees to change container destinations, customs fees, late fees and more. Those charges “are often passed on to consumers,” according to CNBC.

Because of the work stoppage, logistics professionals believe that shoppers will likely see the prices of goods increase when the winter holidays roll around.