Ottawa, Ontario — Canada’s two largest railways could initiate strike action as soon as this Thursday, potentially impacting shipments of automobiles, auto parts, chemicals, agricultural products and more.
The Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National railroads handle about 40,000 carloads of freight every day. Both companies’ labour agreements expired at the end of 2023; talks have been ongoing since. Both have said they will begin locking out workers on Thursday, August 22, if a deal cannot be reached with the Teamsters union representing workers from both companies.
This is the first time the Teamsters union, representing nearly 9,000 workers, has faced simultaneous negotiations with Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National railroads. Historically, shipments could be shifted to another if one railroad went on strike.
As Scott Shannon, VP of C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s North American Transportation Division, told Supply Chain Dive: “If workers at both railways strike, it could paralyze the ports and trucking rates could spike because a whole lot of freight would have to find another way to travel.”
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said a potential work stoppage at the major railways could be “devastating” for small businesses.
This is a developing story.
