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Because of the failure to reach an agreement with the Canadian Teamsters Union on wages and working hours, Canada's two major railway companies, Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway (CPKC), are facing the risk of a simultaneous shutdown for the first time, which is expected to cause billions of dollars in economic losses. Canada relies heavily on trains to transport bulk goods such as grains, beans, cars, potash fertilizers, coal, etc. The Vancouver Board of Trade revealed that the value of goods transported by Canadian railways every day is as high as $1 billion.

The Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) rail yard in Port Coquitlam.

The Canadian Teamsters Union has nearly 10,000 employees in CN and CPKC, mainly engaged in work as train engineers, train conductors, train and yard workers, and rail traffic controllers. According to reports, CN officially notified the Canadian Teamsters Union on August 18 local time that the company would impose a work stoppage on union workers from the early morning of the 22nd because the labor-management negotiations that had just taken place had not made any meaningful progress, and stated that unless the labor-management conflicts were resolved promptly and clearly, the company would have no choice but to continue to close the railway network in stages. CPKC also officially notified the Canadian Teamsters Union on the same day that it would begin a work stoppage in the early morning of the 22nd. In response to the public statements of the two railway companies, the union responded later on the 18th that the union had issued a 72-hour strike notice to the two railway companies, "unless the two sides reach an agreement at the last minute, the workers will stop working from the early morning of the 22nd (Canadian time)."

Reuters reported that CN and CPKC have a monopoly in the Canadian railway market, and their capacity accounts for about three-quarters of the total capacity of the country's railway sector. The Canadian Chemical Industry Association said that once the two major railway companies stop working, Canada's chlorine transportation will soon be interrupted, which will affect the quality of drinking water for its residents. The Associated Press warned that given the degree of integration between Canada and the United States economy, the suspension of Canadian railways will also have an impact on the United States and even disrupt the US supply chain system. According to reports, the railway network operated by CN and CPKC is connected to several major US railway and shipping hubs such as Chicago, New Orleans and Memphis. Not only that, the railway network operated by CPKC also extends southward and is connected to ports on the east and west coasts of Mexico. Due to concerns about possible strikes, some US companies have refused to accept cross-border goods that rely on the CN and CPKC railway networks for transportation. Even a US railway operator notified customers on August 13 that the company would immediately ban all dangerous and safety-sensitive goods from entering and leaving the CN and CPKC railway networks. The company also said that if there is any shutdown of Canadian railway companies, further embargoes may be implemented.

Beijing Business Daily Comprehensive Report