Local grain elevators concerned about Canadian rail dispute

Charles Crane/MDN
The Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway (CPKC) Depot in Minot is shown Thursday afternoon.

Local grain companies faced concerns over shipping on Thursday when Canada’s two major freight railroads shut down operations and locked out 9,000 members of the Teamsters amid stalled negotiations. Trains began moving again by end of day, easing the threat that grain transports at local elevators could be affected at a time when harvest is in progress.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad (CPKC) transports freight from elevators in Minot and throughout the state, including Max, Ryder and Harvey.

Prior to the Canadian government stepping in, Tony Smith, vice president of grain operations with United Quality Cooperative in New Town, said shipments and orders were still moving.

“Since today was the day for the start, I wouldn’t say anything that we personally have ordered has been affected yet. Not to say that it won’t, but as far as the timing, we’ve had stuff ordered – it hasn’t affected us yet,” Smith said. “It can definitely go both ways. It could affect shipments, but as of now it has not.”

Brentt Roberts, general manager at Harvey Prairie Towers, wasn’t as optimistic, saying he could foresee a number of direct impacts should a railcar backlog occur.

“It definitely will. It could impact any of our shipments going west. It could impact any of our shipments going anywhere if we can’t get any empty freight. I’m hopeful it will get resolved in three to five days but today it’s definitely a concern,” Roberts said. “It actually will have a big impact on fertilizer as well.”