Posted on 03/23/2022 11:10:16 AM PDT by EBH
A fertilizer industry expert says there could be further disruptions in the supply chain from failed labor negotiations with the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Kathy Mathers with The Fertilizer Institute says a key transportation route to deliver fertilizer has been shut down. “It could really could gum up the shipments of potash to the U.S., to U.S. growers. That remains a big concern for us.”
Negotiations with the Teamsters Rail Conference Canada Union continued Sunday with federal mediators at the table. The company says it’s bargaining over higher pension caps.
She tells Brownfield Canada exports more than 80 percent of the U.S.’s potash supply by rail and it’s unclear what the immediate or long-term impacts might be. “It really depends on where the grower’s geography is. How close they are. What sort of arrangements their retailers are making and how much they communicated with their retailers about their needs.”
Mathers was on a call with the White House Monday morning and says the administration told participants it is working with the Canadian government to resolve the issue. “It is basically reaching the highest levels of U.S. government in terms of its concern. The Biden administration recognizes that fertilizer is kind of the number one poster child on all of this and how very, very important it is.”
Mathers says last week several ag groups wrote a letter to the administration addressing these concerns.
Farmers are going to make $ selling the local residents chicken poo.
I think this is old news. I thought I saw a headline yesterday that said the strike was settled.
I looked for one and didn’t find anything?
Checking again I found this:
https://www.reuters.com/business/canadas-cp-rail-union-enter-arbitration-resume-operations-2022-03-22/
March 22 (Reuters) - Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd (CP.TO) will resume operations on Tuesday as it agreed to settle a labor dispute with the union representing its conductors and engineers through arbitration, averting more pain to firms battling supply-chain disruptions.
The railroad said the agreement with Teamsters Canada Rail Conference ends the work stoppage that began early Sunday when it locked its workers out over a dispute on pensions, pay and benefits.
planting season is going to be problematic...
“It could really could gum up the shipments of potash to the U.S., to U.S. growers.”
Reopen the closed Potash mines at Carlsbad NM!
THANKS!! Potash after all.
Just fertilized my lawn this morning and now lovely Rain for the rest of the day.
For the haters out there, I don’t water my lawn ever and it’s 1/2 dead come end of summer each year:-)
They were out on strike from Saturday to Monday. The Canadian government ordered them back to work with binding arbitration.
This happens with the CN or CPRS every five years or so. The Canadian government typically orders them back to work within 48 hours. It still screws up rail traffic out of Canada for a week or so.
FYI, the CN railroad has been screwed up ever since the BC floods in November. Rail cars are 2-3 weeks behind for all the sawmills served by the CN. In the US the BNSF is also behind 2-3 weeks getting flatbed cars to the mills. The UP is also been having problems keeping up with demand. They all still blame covid and not having enough crews to run the trains.
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