CN grain shipments return to pre-strike pace

CN's movement of Canadian grain is back to pre-strike pace after recovering from an eight-day strike that occurred in November, the Class I announced today.

CN spotted more than 6,800 hopper cars per week during the first two weeks of November, which were the 14th and 15th weeks of the crop year and its high point, CN officials said in a press release.

The strike prevented the Class I from accepting new orders during Week 17, as CN was operating at only 10 percent of overall capacity. By the second week of December (week 19), CN returned to shipping at peak levels, as well as taking on all customer hopper demand for the second and third weeks of December, company officials said.

"After a tough harvest due to adverse weather and an eight-day labor stoppage, our railroaders have been hard at work to get movements back on track,” said Allen Foster, vice president of bulk at CN. “Our disciplined approach to recovery after the strike has allowed CN to return to a normal pace, as did all the investments we have made in track infrastructure and new locomotives over the past two years."

During the crop year's first 18 weeks, CN set an all-time record month in October, with 2.8 million metric tons (MMT). The Class I set an all-time record week in Week 11, which ran from Oct. 13-19, at 685,187 MMT.

In late November, CN and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference reached a tentative contract agreement, ending a week-long strike involving about 3,200 CN conductors and rail yard crews in Canada. Employees returned to work on Nov. 26.