A lockout at the Port of Vancouver, British Columbia, could mean more intermodal freight at U.S. ports in the Northwest.

Since Nov. 7, the British Columbia Maritime Employers' Assn., which represents employers at the port, refused to let members of the longshoreman's union go to work. The result has been the diversion of container traffic to U.S. facilities, as the lockout has stopped the loading and unloading of containers. Some of the freight is being moved by truck, resulting in at least one truck jam at the British Columbia-U.S. border.
The employers' group says it won't negotiate until the workers drop what it says are unfair "preconditions" to a contract agreement.