Skip to content
Search AI Powered
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

Canadian government presses freight trains to get moving

Labor Minister forces binding arbitration talks on union contract, but Teamsters challenge deal with CPKC, renew threat to strike at CN.

CP Screenshot 2024-08-23 at 1.31.31 PM.png
Ben Ames
By Ben AmesAug 23, 2024
Ben Ames
Ben Ames is Editor at Large and a Senior Editor at Supply Chain Xchange's sister publication, DC Velocity.
See Full Bio

Some workers at Canadian railways are preparing to return to their jobs today after the country’s government intervened in a work stoppage that had frozen freight trains operated by Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) for about a day.

The trains had stopped rolling just past midnight on Thursday morning, when the two rail companies locked out their employees after reaching an impasse in talks with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) to renew a union labor contract.

But by the end of that same day, Canada’s national government had stepped in when the country’s Labor Minister ordered the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to launch binding arbitration talks between the feuding parties.

As a result, CN said it had ended its lockout and initiated its recovery plan as of 6pm Thursday. However, on Friday the Teamsters renewed their threat to strike against CN.

Likewise, CPKC trains remained stopped on Friday, as the company said it “remains prepared to resume service as soon as it is ordered to do so by the CIRB” but that the Teamsters union was challenging the government’s move in court. Negotiations before the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) were scheduled to resume today.

Although the talks continue to be fractious, analysts were optimistic that all issues would be resolved. In a note to investors, analyst Jason Seidl of TD Securities said, “Rail operations are expected to resume in a few days despite some tactical delays from Teamsters workers at CPKC disputing the CIRB's expected intervention and preventing an immediate reopening (this is likely to be resolved today).”

But even if the rail stoppage proves to be short-lived, it has already made impacts on freight flows, with some shippers pre-emptively diverting cargo ahead of the deadline, Seidl said. For example, the firm has seen some Canadian port volume shift to the U.S. West Coast, Western rails' share of intermodal volumes jump sharply to near 7-year highs, and Canadian spot truckload rates spike significantly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ArticleTransportationRail
canadian national railwayteamsters canada rail conferencecanadian pacific kansas city (cpkc)
ArticleTransportationRail
canadian national railwayteamsters canada rail conferencecanadian pacific kansas city (cpkc)

Recent

german courthouse
Move

Deutsche Bahn claims victory in “air freight cartel” settlement

boxes on a conveyor
Store

Amazon adds Adidas as its latest e-commerce 3PL customer

Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year
Featured

Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Industry Press Room

Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas Group Announces UniCarriers® Forklifts’ Premier Club Winners for 2024

More Stories

Just 29% of supply chain organizations are prepared to meet future readiness demands

Just 29% of supply chain organizations are prepared to meet future readiness demands

Just 29% of supply chain organizations have the competitive characteristics they’ll need for future readiness, according to a Gartner survey released Tuesday. The survey focused on how organizations are preparing for future challenges and to keep their supply chains competitive.

Gartner surveyed 579 supply chain practitioners to determine the capabilities needed to manage the “future drivers of influence” on supply chains, which include artificial intelligence (AI) achievement and the ability to navigate new trade policies. According to the survey, the five competitive characteristics are: agility, resilience, regionalization, integrated ecosystems, and integrated enterprise strategy.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

A generative AI image of a future warehouse with two figures looking at digital overlays of traditional warehousing racks. An autonomous mobile robot is nearby.
Store

Strategic planning and smart investments: Unlocking the potential of automation

US customs agent inspecting agricultural goods
Finance & Strategy

Industry groups: Reciprocal tariffs show “incomplete thinking”

photo collage of containers and ports
Plan

DHL Supply Chain expands offerings in returns, multi-shoring

chart of GenAI impact on workforces
Technology

Gartner: GenAI tools create anxiety among employees

woman making purchase with smartphone
Plan

C.H. Robinson says shippers are stressed about tariffs and trade changes

illustrated world map with a chain-linked fence
Plan

Navigating uncertainty: The impact of Trump's proposed tariffs on global supply chains

screen shot of returns apps on different devices

Optoro: 69% of shoppers admit to “wardrobing” fraud

With returns now a routine part of the shopping journey, technology provider Optoro says a recent survey has identified four trends influencing shopper preferences and retailer priorities.

First, 54% of retailers are looking for ways to increase their financial recovery from returns. That’s because the cost to return a purchase averages 27% of the purchase price, which erases as much as 50% of the sales margin. But consumers have their own interests in mind: 76% of shoppers admit they’ve embellished or exaggerated the return reason to avoid a fee, a 39% increase from 2023 to 204.

Keep ReadingShow less
robots carry goods through a warehouse

Fortna: rethink your distribution strategy for 2025

Facing an evolving supply chain landscape in 2025, companies are being forced to rethink their distribution strategies to cope with challenges like rising cost pressures, persistent labor shortages, and the complexities of managing SKU proliferation.

But according to the systems integrator Fortna, businesses can remain competitive if they focus on five core areas:

Keep ReadingShow less
shopper uses smartphone in retail store

EY lists five ways to fortify omnichannel retail

In the fallout from the pandemic, the term “omnichannel” seems both out of date and yet more vital than ever, according to a study from consulting firm EY.

That clash has come as retailers have been hustling to adjust to pandemic swings like a renewed focus on e-commerce, then swiftly reimagining store experiences as foot traffic returned. But even as the dust settles from those changes, retailers are now facing renewed questions about how best to define their omnichannel strategy in a world where customers have increasing power and information.

Keep ReadingShow less
artistic image of a building roof

BCG: tariffs would accelerate change in global trade flows

Geopolitical rivalries, alliances, and aspirations are rewiring the global economy—and the imposition of new tariffs on foreign imports by the U.S. will accelerate that process, according to an analysis by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Without a broad increase in tariffs, world trade in goods will keep growing at an average of 2.9% annually for the next eight years, the firm forecasts in its report, “Great Powers, Geopolitics, and the Future of Trade.” But the routes goods travel will change markedly as North America reduces its dependence on China and China builds up its links with the Global South, which is cementing its power in the global trade map.

Keep ReadingShow less
Copyright ©2025.