No more 'critical worker' exemption.
From Bloomberg via the Detroit News, 3:28 pm ET, January 14:
Canada plans to start turning away unvaccinated U.S. truckers at the border Saturday, a move that threatens to upend the flow of everything from food to auto parts to building supplies between two of the world's largest trading partners.
Only 50% to 60% of U.S. truckers are vaccinated, according to an estimate from the American Trucking Associations. The rules will make thousands of drivers ineligible for cross-border shipments, exacerbating a shortage at a time when the transportation industry is already strained.
Manufacturers are warning they may be forced to slow production and will likely face higher costs from the snarling of a supply chain that depends on an open border for the movement of some $45 billion worth of goods every month. Canada is the top export market for 32 U.S. states, according to the Department of Commerce.
Shipping will get disrupted in both directions, as the U.S. is the set to impose its own vaccine mandate on foreign travelers on Jan. 22. In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government confirmed Thursday that truck drivers from Canada will be affected as well — forced into quarantine if they try to re-enter their own country and can't show proof of vaccination.
"I'm sure you've been to a grocery store and seen empty shelves, and it's not going to get any better," said Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University and one of Canada's top experts on the food supply chain....
....MUCH MORE
