The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade estimates that more than $600,000 million worth of trade has been disrupted in just the first 18 hours of the West Coast work stoppage.

The World Trade Organization estimates the global cost of food fraud to be anywhere between $30 billion and $50 billion each year.

The brief strike by East and Gulf Coast dockworkers brought to the fore the ongoing controversy about automation at U.S. ports, and its ultimate impact on human workers.

As negotiations between the ILA and USMX continue, the issue of automation at ports remains a point of contention.

The ILA halted negotiations with the USMX in June, after discovering that a handful of ports were using automated systems to check in trucks.

If East and Gulf Coast ports are forced to shut down, the U.S. could see inventory shortages, higher costs at grocery stores, and months-long container backlogs.

While there's still a long road ahead for Terminal 6, the outlook for saving container service in Oregon is rosier now than it's been in years.

NOAA predicts that by the end of November, this year's hurricane season could rank among the busiest on record.

The Railway Association of Canada says that more than half of the country's exports are moved by rail, in addition to 70% of its intercity surface freight.

Ahead of looming deadlines, it's unclear whether either situation will resolve in time to avert these twin crises, or how long any potential work stoppages might last.