LA wildfires could cause supply chain issues at Port of Vancouver

As wildfires in and around Los Angeles continue to rage, experts are warning that the devastation could lead to major disruptions in supply chains.

Potential damage and delays at the Port of Los Angeles — a critical port for importing goods to the U.S., especially from Asia — could have big impacts on B.C., says Dr. Samuel Roscoe.

Roscoe, who teaches supply chain management at UBC, says some companies will likely look to reroute. This could mean an influx of goods at the Port of Vancouver as early as next week.

“I think if the fires continue for several more days, you might see the ship operators looking to move to different ports, such as the Port of Vancouver,” Roscoe said.

In particular, he says, the movement of agricultural products such as fresh fruits and vegetables coming up from California could be impacted.

“Things like grapes and avocados, tomatoes, berries are grown in California during the winter months that are shipped up to B.C.,” he said.

“There might be an impact on those if the fires continue and there’s continued congestion on the roads or evacuations.”

In a statement, the Port of Vancouver says it isn’t experiencing any sort of disruptions yet but is monitoring things closely.