POTENTIAL RAIL STRIKE IN CANADA COULD IMPACT FERTILIZER SHIPMENTS TO THE U.S.

After reaching an impasse in contract talks with Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railways (CPKC), Teamsters Canada advise that railroad strikes could begin May 22, 2024. Nearly all of the over 9,000 members of Teamster Canada voted in favor of implementing strikes as early as May 22, 2024. For North American logistics networks, this could lead to extensive disruption in logistic networks across North America. In the negotiations with CN and CPKC on three labor agreements, talks have stalled as Teamsters Canada claim that the carriers are trying to ease back provisions on safety.

Impacts from a strike could be expected across the continent as CN operates approximately 20,000 miles of tracks and annually transports around 300 metric tons of cargo. CPKC also operates 20,000 miles of tracks that serve markets in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

For a period of two weeks in July of 2023, 7,000 West coast port workers engaged in strikes that disrupted shipping operations across the Pacific Northwest and impacted Canada’s economy. A Canadian legislature trade committee report estimated the port strike reduced Canada’s gross domestic product by approximately C$1 billion and affected shipments totaling C$10 billion. Stabilization of the supply chain took upwards of six weeks after the strike ended.

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