US rails cancel embargoes after Canada work stoppage ends

(Reuters) – U.S. railroads Norfolk Southern (NYSE:) and BNSF Railway on Monday said all embargoes associated with the potential Canadian work stoppage stand canceled and affected rail traffic has resumed, putting an end to an unprecedented service disruption in the movement of goods across the border.

Canadian National and Canadian Pacific (NYSE:) Kansas City previously issued embargoes on goods moving to the U.S. as part of an orderly shutdown before a potential work stoppage.

The railroads also locked out more than 9,000 unionized workers at midnight of August 22, triggering a simultaneous rail stoppage.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered a halt to work stoppages on Saturday, issuing binding arbitration, while ruling a continuation of existing contracts.

Both CN and CPKC have previously highlighted that it might take several weeks for them to fully recover from this work stoppage.

Freight forwarder C.H. Robinson’s Canada VP Scott Shannon in a statement to Reuters said, “We expect it to take up to a week for each railroad to be fully reset and running smoothly again. It will take much longer to catch up with shipments that have gotten backlogged.”