Pigs bound for slaughter in the U.S. are getting stuck in Canada while their feed is stranded in the U.S. as new trucker vaccine rules exacerbate a shortage of drivers.
According to a Bloomberg report, a significant number of hog producers are unable to ship their weanlings to Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas as trucks have been canceled this week due to a lack of drivers, said Cam Dahl, general manager of Manitoba Pork.
Compounding the problem, some truck shipments of soybean meal from the U.S. to Manitoba are also being scrapped at a time when producers are relying on the imports to feed their animals after drought withered Prairie supplies, he said.
Pigs bound for slaughter in the U.S. are getting stuck in Canada while their feed is stranded in the U.S. as new trucker vaccine rules exacerbate a shortage of drivers.
According to a Bloomberg report, a significant number of hog producers are unable to ship their weanlings to Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas as trucks have been canceled this week due to a lack of drivers, said Cam Dahl, general manager of Manitoba Pork.
Compounding the problem, some truck shipments of soybean meal from the U.S. to Manitoba are also being scrapped at a time when producers are relying on the imports to feed their animals after drought withered Prairie supplies, he said.
New rules that came into effect January 15 require that American truck drivers crossing into Canada be fully vaccinated, though only about half of U.S. drivers have gotten their shots.
The U.S. is poised to introduce its own mandate on foreign travelers on January 22, which will apply to truckers. The health orders are adding to the North American supply-chain turmoil that was already strained from labor shortages and pandemic-related disruptions.
