Roughly 9,000 Teamsters union workers at Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City have been locked out, as of just after midnight this morning (Thurs). In a news release, the Conference Board of Canada says it believes a stoppage will essentially halt an industry that accounts for about 0.45 per cent of Canada’s GDP and employs about 0.25 per cent of the workforce, however, rail lines carry more than $1 billion worth of goods each day, according to the Railway Association of Canada.
More than half the country’s exports travel by rail.

The Conference Board of Canada’s economic model suggests over a two week period, a rail strike would halt Canadian exports and imports of a wide range of products including agricultural, energy, mining, manufactured products and consumer goods. It would mean a $3 billion loss in nominal GDP this year, felt by both households, with a $1.3 billion loss in labour income, and businesses, with a $1.25 billion loss in corporate profits. Federal government revenues would fall $391 million, while aggregate provincial and territorial government revenues would be down in total by $533 million.

The challenge is the alternate transportation options are limited. The Conference Board notes that Canada’s trucking industry is already dealing with congestion and a shortage of drivers.