VANCOUVER, (July 6, 2005) — It looks like containers won’t be moving in and out of the Port of Vancouver anytime soon. Talks have broken off between the independent container haulers and a government appointed mediator.

The news comes just one day after a lawyer for the Vancouver Container Truckers Association — which is representing about 1,200 owner-ops — told the Globe and Mail that the two sides were very close to agreeing on a standardized rate increase for the truckers.

According to the truckers, negotiations to get Canada’s busiest port back on track failed when carriers and brokers would not agree to a mediated settlement on wages. The truckers were originally demanding a 15 percent general rate increase as well as fuel surcharge to mitigate skyrocketing diesel prices.

Veteran negotiator Vince Ready was brought in by the province to settle the dispute this past weekend. While there were reports that things were progressing after three days of talks, the standoff continues.

“They refused to move beyond the existing inadequate rates,” the association said in a statement, adding that 20 brokers failed to show up for the talks.

— with files from Reuters