The Ambassador Bridge is open again after a vaccine mandate protest prompted a blockade, pausing traffic on a key international land port and costing millions of dollars in lost production, the Detroit Free Press reports.

While reopening the bridge allows free flow of commerce between Canada and the U.S., the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said commercial carriers may still experience delays due to traffic volumes.

After blocking streets in Ottawa for 10 days to protest a requirement that drivers traversing between the U.S. and Canada be vaccinated against Covid-19, the truckers had brought their blockade to the Ambassador Bridge — the 1.4-mile long, 1929 bridge linking Windsor, Ontario, with Detroit and carrying 25% of all trade between the two countries.  About $300 million worth of auto parts, agricultural products and raw materials cross the bridge daily.

GM, Ford, Toyota and Honda all operate plants in Ontario, with only Honda able to continue production, according to Reuters. Typically automakers keep about two days worth of inventory on hand.

“In this world of ‘just-in-time’ deliveries and precisely tuned supply chains, even a day or two of delay can be costly and troublesome,” Michigan Manufacturers Association CEO John Walsh wrote in an Op-Ed for Crain’s Detroit Business.  “Plant closures and temporary layoffs have already occurred, stressing an already challenged supply chain.”

The ongoing protest amid reports from fastener manufacturers about supply shortages.

ITW reported Automotive OEM segment sales, including fasteners, increased 8.9% to $2.8 billion in 2021, including 5.8% organic revenue growth.  Operating income totaled $545 million, with operating margin of 19.5%.

But market headwinds limited segment growth in the closing months of the year, according to CEO E. Scott Santi.

“Our Automotive OEM segment continued to be impacted by limitations on auto production due to component supply shortages,” stated Santi.

Automotive OEM segment sales in the final quarter of 2021 dropped 16.2% to $663 million, with operating income totaling $111 million and operating margin of 16.8%.

Stanley Black & Decker reported Engineered Fastening organic growth dropped 9% in the final quarter of 2021 as “strong general industrial growth was offset by market-driven aerospace declines and lower automotive OEM production resulting from the global semiconductor shortage.”

Engineered Fastening is part of Stanley Black & Decker’s Industrial segment, which saw sales decline 7% to $609.7 million in Q4 “as price (+3%) was more than offset by volume (-9%).”  Segment profit fell 38% to $53.7 million during the quarter.