Signs displaying "closed" are seen at the Centerm Container Terminal during a strike by International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada workers, at the port, in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Railways are facing a sharp drop-off in container shipments as the strike by B.C. port workers halts more than half of steel-box cargo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
MONTREAL – Railways are facing a sharp drop-off in container shipments as the strike by B.C. port workers halted more than half of steel-box cargo so far this month.
RBC Dominion Securities analyst Walter Spracklin says Canadian National Railway Co.’s revenue-ton-miles – a key industry metric used to gauge income and freight volume – fell 60 per cent in the first week of the job action.
He says the figure dropped by 45 per cent at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.
The American Railroad Association says the number of containers hauled last week plunged by nearly half compared to the same period in 2022.
The corrugated metal boxes, which carry everything from consumer products to auto parts, mark a critical source of cash for the two railways, comprising roughly one-quarter of annual revenue.
The union and management have until 10:30 a.m. PDT today to decide if they will accept a federal mediator’s recommendations to end the 12-day port strike by some 7,400 waterfront workers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2023.
Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR, TSX:CP)
