Canada's two biggest rail companies are on the verge of a strike and work stoppage that could cause shipping issues for multiple industries across North America, including plastics.
Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, representing workers at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd., says workers will be off the job as of 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on Aug. 22. And Canadian National Railway has issued notice it will lock out workers at the same time, Canada-based Global News reports.
Both companies already are limiting incoming shipments so that loaded rail cars aren't left abandoned when any strike begins. They also are rejecting some materials that are more vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, the Associated Press writes.
The two rail lines handle about 40,000 carloads of freight each day, worth about $1 billion, according to Jeff Windau, industrials analyst for Edward Jones & Co. Shipments of cars and car parts, chemicals, forestry products and agricultural goods would be hit hard, Windau told AP.
Any strike will not affect U.S.- and Mexico-based rail operations for either company.
The U.S. Alliance for Chemical Distribution joined Responsible Distribution Canada in issuing a letter Aug. 15 calling for government leaders to step in to resolve the labor issues.
"If this strike is allowed to take place, potentially occurring as early as August 22, a myriad of hazardous materials, such as chlorine, that are necessary for the well-being of Canadian and American citizens will be severely delayed or not shipped at all," ACD and RDC said in a joint statement.
