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Why the Canadian freight rail halt will roil North American supply chains

Canada's two main freight rail business locked out around 10,000 of their Canadian unionized employees early on Thursday, starting an extraordinary simultaneous work stoppage that will grind practically all railway freight motion in the country to a halt.

HOW INTEGRATED ARE THE RAIL NETWORKS ACROSS THE United States AND CANADA?

Canadian National Railway Co and Canadian Pacific Kansas City have said their rail networks south of the border will continue to operate, however industry groups fear that a. work stoppage would have far-reaching results on the movement of. items and commodities throughout North America.

CN and CPKC's coast-to-coast rail networks in Canada link. south of the border and act as important supply chain links to. trade corridors and ports throughout The United States and Canada.

The networks intersect with those of U.S. rail operators. such as BNSF Railway, Union Pacific, Norfolk. Southern and CSX, assisting in the motion of. billions of dollars' worth of products and products through. ports and storage facilities across the continent.

CN's network stretches south to New Orleans. CPKC's network. links to the U.S. ports of Corpus Christi, New Orleans and. Gulfport, and it extends more south to the ports of Tampico. and Lázaro Cárdenas on the east and west coasts of Mexico.

HOW WOULD A CANADIAN RAIL INTERRUPTION AFFECT THE UNITED STATES?

Around a third of the traffic moved by the 2 Canadian rail. companies crosses the border with the United States.

Lots of U.S. business and producers, specifically those in the. Midwest, use Canadian ports for imports and exports, as Montreal. can be faster for shipments to and from Europe, while Vancouver. can be faster for ocean service to and from Asia.

Union Pacific, the No. 2 U.S. railroad operator, has warned. that a synchronised interruption would have devastating consequences. for the U.S. and Canadian economies.

Scores company Moody's stated the interruption could cost over. C$ 341 million ($ 251.14 million) per day.

Lots of groups representing miners, farmers, exporters,. and fertilizer producers, to name a few, have warned that their. sectors deal with debilitating supply-chain hold-ups, increased costs,. cash-flow restrictions and prospective shutdowns in a protracted. stoppage.

HOW WOULD THE U.S. AND CANADIAN FARM SECTORS BE IMPACTED?

An interruption would hit the movement of whatever from wheat. to ethanol, potash fertilizer and meat.

In particular, it would crimp deliveries of U.S. spring wheat. from Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota to the Pacific. Northwest for export. An interruption would also hit Canadian potash. and grain exports.

The U.S. exported $28.3 billion of farming products to. Canada in 2023, making it the third-largest location for U.S. farming exports behind China and Mexico. The U.S. imported. $ 40.1 billion of Canadian farming products last year,. making Canada the second-largest source of U.S. agricultural. imports.

Ethanol, potash, corn, cereals, food grains, cooking oils,. and meat are among the farming products traded in between the. 2 countries.

WILL TRADE WITH MEXICO BE AFFECTED TOO?

Mexico is Canada's third-largest single-country product. trading partner behind the U.S. and China, while Canada was. Mexico's fourth-largest merchandise trading partner in 2023.

Mexico exports trucks, automobiles and vehicle parts to Canada,. together with mangoes and avocados. Canada exports wheat, meat,. aluminum, vehicles and parts to Mexico.

Two-way trade between the two countries, much of which moves. through the rails, was almost C$ 55 billion in 2023.

CAN THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY ENTER THE BREACH?

Truckers state they are facing a rise in demand which roadway. freight rates are increasing for shippers in Canada. Nevertheless,. industry insiders say that while the trucking sector can manage. a few of the need, it can not replace rail distribution. In some. cases, the industry does not have the equipment, nor the. capacity, to manage bulk commodity cargoes such as potash, food. grains, or coal.

(source: Reuters)