Washington | Reuters — A third U.S. rail union voted on Monday to reject a tentative national contract reached in September, but expects to continue negotiating to reach a deal. The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB), which represents about 300 U.S. rail employees, rejected the agreement, said the union and the National Carriers’ Conference Committee […] Read more
Third U.S. union rejects national rail contract deal
Two major unions' decisions due next week
U.S. grains: Wheat futures fall from two-month highs amid broad sell-off
USDA resumes weekly export sales data
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures closed lower on Thursday, with profit-taking dragging wheat down from two-month highs, traders said. Broad-based selling added pressure on prices as traders reduced their risk amid growing warnings of a global economic slowdown, analysts said. “Inflation and recession concerns hit all markets today,” CHS Hedging said. […] Read more
U.S. railroad strike averted
Biden calls deal a 'win for America;' strike's impact would have reached up into Canada
Updated | Washington | Reuters — Major U.S. railroads and unions secured a tentative deal on Thursday after 20 hours of intense talks brokered by President Joe Biden’s administration to avert a rail shutdown that could have hit food and fuel supplies across the country and beyond. Biden called the deal a “big win for […] Read more
U.S. railways to halt grain shipments ahead of potential shutdown
Fall fertilizer traffic also at risk
Chicago | Reuters — Some U.S. railroads will start halting crop shipments on Thursday, a day ahead of a potential work stoppage, an agricultural association and sources at two grain co-operatives said on Tuesday, threatening exports and feed deliveries for livestock. With farmers starting to harvest autumn crops that are shipped to meat and biofuels […] Read more
U.S. government makes contingency plans for rail shutdown
Three unions represent about 60,000 rail workers
Washington/Los Angeles | Reuters — U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday made contingency plans aiming to ensure deliveries of critical goods in the event of a shutdown of the U.S. rail system while pressing railroads and unions to reach a deal to avoid a work stoppage affecting freight and passenger service. The potential shutdown, […] Read more
CP arbitration ends in two-year deal for engineers, conductors
Dispute led to rail service outage in March
Mediation and arbitration hearings over the weekend have ended in a two-year labour deal for engineers, conductors and train and yard service staff at Canadian Pacific Railway. The agreement puts a formal lid on the latest round of contract disputes between Calgary-based CP and its 3,000-odd unionized employees represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference […] Read more
Is a return of ‘grain gridlock’ in the cards?
Grain movement was slow last winter but CN and CP say they’ll be ready to move this fall’s harvest
Reading Time: 4 minutes Fears are mounting that CN and CP may not be up to the job of getting grain to port later this year, even though the forecasts are for only an average-sized crop. “Last year wasn’t very reassuring,” said Geoff Backman, manager of business development and markets with Alberta Wheat and Barley. “Every year farmers are […] Read more
Biden steps in to help end freight rail labour disputes
Disputes dragging at BNSF, Union Pacific
Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order creating an emergency board to help resolve disputes between major freight rail carriers and their unions, in a move that could help loosen up some supply chain constraints. The order came ahead of a deadline next week to intervene in nationwide […] Read more
Railways catch up, but grain shippers worry about this fall
If there’s a normal crop this fall, it’s not clear if railways will have the capacity to move it
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – After a brutal few months of being unable to meet the shipping demands of grain companies, the two major railways have largely caught up. “Over the last two or three weeks, it’s got a little bit better,” Mark Hemmes, of Quorum Corp. (the federal grain monitor) said earlier this month. “We probably […] Read more
Year-end profits up for CN, CP despite lower grain handles
Railways' ledgers weather drought, B.C. disasters
Both of Canada’s big two railways were able to improve their overall gross and net in 2021 over 2020 despite a yield-robbing drought and disastrous track and bridge washouts in southern British Columbia. Canadian National Railway (CN) on Tuesday reported 2021 net income of $4.892 billion on $14.477 billion in gross revenue, up from $3.784 […] Read more
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