Failed labor negotiations between railway employers Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) union are expected to significantly disrupt North American supply chains. After the TCRC issued a strike notice, the employers announced a plan to lock out the union-represented employees on Thursday.
Although some shipment volumes will likely be moved from rail to trucking fleets, “the translation of halted rail freight to trucking volumes isn't one-to-one. A significant portion of railroad freight cannot effectively move to truck freight,” writes FleetOwner Editor Jeremy Wolfe.
“North American manufacturing supply chains depend on functioning rail links. If rail traffic grinds to a halt, businesses and families across the country will feel the impact. Manufacturing workers, their communities and consumers of all sorts of products will be left reeling from supply chain disruptions. Rail transport between Canada and the United States moves billions of dollars of goods every month,” said National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons in a statement released Monday.
The stoppage of this rail freight across the Canada and U.S. border is expected to have an impact on a number of industries such as automotive and chemical.
Learn more about the labor dispute and disruption at IndustryWeek’s partner brand FleetOwner.
