- North American industry groups and shippers are preparing for a potential simultaneous stoppage at both of Canada’s main railway companies.
- The stoppage could cause billions of dollars in economic damage as Canada relies heavily on trains for transporting goods such as grain, beans, automobiles, potash, and coal.
- Talks between Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, and the Teamsters Union have stalled, with both sides blaming each other for bad faith negotiations.
- Rail companies plan to lock out workers on August 22 if no labor deal is reached, while the union is ready to strike on the same date.
- Industry groups urge the Canadian government to prevent the stoppage, highlighting the significant economic impact, with railways transporting around C$380 billion ($277 billion) worth of goods annually.
- A stoppage would also affect the United States due to the integrated economies, with Canada exporting about 75% of its goods to the U.S.
- The networks of CN and CPKC connect with major U.S. rail and shipping hubs such as Chicago, New Orleans, Minneapolis, and Memphis.
- CN announced an embargo on new reservations for hazardous materials, security-sensitive cargoes, and refrigerated containers originating in Canada starting Thursday.
- CN also embargoed all intermodal traffic from several U.S. hubs starting Friday.
- U.S. rail operator Norfolk Southern embargoed all hazardous and security-sensitive cargoes to or from CN and CPKC’s networks effective immediately, with more embargoes possible.
- U.S. logistics firm C.H. Robinson is arranging extra trucking capacity due to the potential disruption.
- Pressure is mounting on the Canadian government to refer the dispute to the Labor Relations Board.
- Industry groups emphasize the severe impact of a rail stoppage, including potential boil water advisories in large municipalities due to disrupted chlorine shipments.
- The Chemistry Industry Association of Canada highlighted the impracticality of replacing rail transport with trucks, citing a shortage of trucks and drivers.
{This summary covers the key facts and insights from the original article, offering information about the pending Canada rail stoppage.}
Source: https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2024-08-14/industry-and-shippers-brace-for-canada-rail-stoppage-fear-catastrophe