Canada’s two major freight railroads resumed work on Monday after a brief lockout last week brought operations to a halt.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board issued an order imposing binding arbitration between the Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) networks over the weekend, mandating that no rail network stoppage – whether a lockout or strike – can occur during the arbitration process.
While railroad workers have returned to the job, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) has vowed to challenge the ruling by the CIRB in court.
Soy Transportation Coalition Executive Director Mike Steenhoek said that while it’s preferable for the two parties to have the flexibility to arrive at an agreement themselves, an agreement remained elusive, and therefore, “It is entirely appropriate for the Canadian federal government to intervene on behalf of the country and all those, like U.S. agriculture, who depend upon a predictable, reliable cross-border supply chain.” He added, “We look forward to a return to normalcy as soon as possible.”
Canada is the U.S.’ fourth-largest soy meal market with a value of $614 million and its largest soybean oil market with a value of $106 million, and the U.S. ships some whole beans to Canada. The U.S. also exports soybeans and soybean meal through Canadian ports (Vancouver, Prince Rupert, etc.).
Uninterrupted rail service is also critical for transporting fertilizer to U.S. farmers, timely feed grains for livestock and other agricultural inputs. Additionally, many facilities quickly run out of storage capacity during a stoppage and incur shortages of incoming raw materials.
