CN Rail strike means more goods may need to be shipped by truck

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – With more than 3,000 Canadian National Railiway workers on strike, it could mean more things need to be shipped by road, instead of by rail.

But don’t expect to see more trucks on the road, says Dave Earle with the BC Trucking Association. He says even if job action causes delays, there’s only so much they can do.

“A lot of the rail goods that move out of the country, in particular, are bulk products. We talk about coal, sulfur, grain, the really big bulk stuff that doesn’t translate well to truck movement at all, ” he says.

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There’s already a lot of demand on truckers in B.C., Earle adds, especially heading into the busy holiday season.

“Certainly, you’re not going to see less, and I don’t know that you’re going to see a lot more [on the road], simply because pretty much every piece of equipment that our members have, certainly in major urban centres, is already spoken for and is moving,” he says.

“Most of the stuff that’s moved by rail doesn’t transfer easily to trucks. I mean, it’s not a lot of consumer goods, but certainly, heading into the holiday season, if this gets protracted, there may be some demands placed on the supply chain.”

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Earle says truckers won’t be impacted by the strike right away, but that could change if job action lasts a few weeks.

About 3,200 conductors, trainspersons and yard workers voted to strike after the company and union were unable to reach a deal. Passenger rail will not be affected.

– With files from Nikitha Martins and Marcella Bernardo