Output losses due to strikes: The case of sawmills in British Columbia

The effects of five major strikes in British Columbia sawmills in the period 1959 to 1974 on production, shipments and inventories of sawn lumber are analyzed using intervention analysis. The primary aim was to estimate the extent to which output losses during the time a strike is in progress are offset by greater production before and/or after the strike. The results indicate prestrike effects offset about 30 per cent of the gross loss, with no significant poststrike effect.