The Canadian government has stepped in and ordered railway workers to return, just 18 hours after the strike got underway on Thursday.
Fearing the damage that may have been done to North American economies, the government has forced the railway and unions into binding arbitration, which could see the dispute resolved by a judge.
The strike started as expected last week, but unions have reluctantly now complied with the ruling by instructing their workers to return yesterday. That may not be the end of the dispute, with the unions expected to file an appeal in federal court.
While the strike may have been in effect for a short period, there will still be a short period of disruption to rail freight movements through Canada as things get back underway.
Many ocean freight services will still be impacted as carriers had already been scheduling vessels away from Canadian ports. Assuming there is no further labour actions, then it may take a while for schedules to fall back into line.
If the walkout had continued for a lengthy period then the disruption would have been significantly worse, due to the large volumes of ocean freight that moves by rail within Canada and cross border to and from the United States.
Your Killick Martin team are monitoring developments closely. If you have concerns over current or upcoming shipments, then please do not hesitate to contact us.
