Train movements at Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) are nearing pre-lockout levels, according to real-time rail data provider, RailState. As of Tuesday, CN’s train movements were at 96% of pre-lockout levels, while CPKC was at 95%. The labor dispute, which involved over 9,000 Teamsters union workers, led to a temporary halt in operations on August 22.
Government Intervention and Recovery Plans
The federal government intervened on the same day, referring the dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The labor body issued a decision on Saturday, ordering the railways to resume normal operations and preventing workers from striking this week. CN began its return to service on August 23, while CPKC workers returned on August 26.
However, the data does not necessarily reflect the volumes of goods shipped. Train movements are indicative of trains in motion, including those with empty cars, and do not provide information on the loads being transported. RailState based its average daily volume on train movements between August 1 and August 21.
CN and CPKC have both stated that their recovery plans are in progress. “We expect complete recovery to take several weeks to catch up the impact that supply chains have been dealing with since April,” CN said in an emailed statement. Meanwhile, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, the workers’ union, is still working on a legal appeal of the labor board’s decision.
