The trucker blockade is starting to take an economic toll.

Blockades of border crossings between the United States and Canada have disrupted production for some automakers and their suppliers, causing workers to be sent home.

The pain is likely to be most acute for smaller auto parts suppliers, for independent truckers and for workers who get paid based on their production, Jack Ewing and Ana Swanson report for The New York Times. Many of these groups, unlike large automakers like General Motors, Ford and Toyota, lack the clout to raise prices of their goods and services. Companies and workers in Canada are more likely to suffer because they are more dependent on the United States.

The longer that crossings between the countries remain blocked, the more severe the damage, not only to the auto industry but also to the communities that depend on manufacturing salaries:

• Employees at large automakers are generally paid a percentage of their regular pay when they are sent home early.

• Workers at smaller firms typically receive no compensation for lost hours, said Dino Chiodo, the director of auto at the giant Canadian union Unifor.

• Workers who have been sent home early because of parts shortages will spend less at stores and restaurants.

Anderson Economic Group in East Lansing, Mich., estimated that workers in the state would lose $51 million this week across automakers and parts suppliers and in the transportation and logistics industries.

Auto factories and suppliers in the United States generally keep at least two weeks of raw materials on hand, said Carla Bailo, the president of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. If the bridges remain blocked for longer than that, she said, “then you’re looking at layoffs.”

The crossing that has the auto industry and government officials most concerned is the Ambassador Bridge, which carries roughly a quarter of the trade between the two countries. READ THE FULL ARTICLE →