OTTAWA, (March 8, 2004) — Some large Canadian shippers that transport goods by rail are saying they’re becoming increasingly frustrated with delays and operational slowdowns due to a three-week-old strike by nearly 5,000 CN technicians, clerical staff and intermodal yard workers.

Despite CN’s insistence that managers substituting for the striking employees are keeping operations at “near normal,” a coalition of shippers declared at the Shippers’ Summit last week they’re fed up with freight delays, problems in obtaining freight cars and containers to load, and in communications with CN on day-to-day matters.

Some of the members — which include Canadian Industrial Transportation Association; Canadian Chemical Producers’ Association; Forest Products Association of Canada; and the Mining Association of Canada — said that in order to guarantee delivery times, they’ve been forced to shift freight to truck, which they say is more expensive.

Other shippers of food products who use refrigerated or heated equipment are facing an effective embargo, as CN will not guarantee that proper temperature control can be maintained on these shipments, some companies said at the Shippers’ Summit.

Bob Ballantyne, president of the Canadian Industrial Transportation Association, said the coalition plans to lobby the government to step in if the labour conflict isn’t resolved soon.

Late last month, Today’s Trucking reported many trucking companies were experiencing increased volumes as a result of the rail strike — mostly in the form of auto parts and agriculture, but also in cross-country general freight.