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. railroad strike averted
Biden calls deal a 'win for America;' strike's impact would have reached up into Canada
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
Grain movement to Vancouver picking up
Railways seen recovering from B.C. damages faster than many had expected
Western grain movement to the Port of Vancouver was at 60 per cent of normal as of Dec. 15 and is expected to continually improve, Mark Hemmes, Canada’s grain monitor and president of Quorum Corp. said in an interview Wednesday. “I think by next week it’s going to look a lot better,” he said. “Is […] Read more
Vena withdraws as candidate for CN CEO role
Reuters — Canadian National Railway said on Monday Jim Vena, who was backed by a group of investors to lead the country’s largest railway operator, had pulled out of the running to serve as its new chief. Shares of CN fell as much as 6.5 per cent on the news. The former Union Pacific executive […] Read more
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