Important Service Update: Railway Strike Coming Thursday August 22nd

The Teamsters union served strike notice to CPKC, and CN Rail issued a lock out notice. Both CPKC and CN Rail have been halting shipments in preparation for potential work stoppages. Unless all parties can reach a last-minute agreement, workers will be off the job as of 12:01 am EST on Thursday August 22nd. In the event of a work stoppage, all rail lines across Canada will cease operations, resulting in a halt of all shipments via the railways.

What does this mean for you?

As a customer of Fastfrate, we have developed a contingency plan for you and your operations. Although no shipments can be moved via the railways, we have a few options that will help mitigate congestion within your operations. 

Fastfrate terminals in Vaughan, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Regina and Vancouver will continue to pick up your freight, this will help clear your docks and keep your operations moving, we will continue to pick up freight, stage and load them. We can stack containers in our yard or CPKC’s yard, and we will stack them by date received to ensure that once the rail lines are operational, we will operate on a first in, first out model.

If you have freight that must move during the strike, we can help you find Over-The-Road options. Please note that is all subject to availability and please understand that there will be a price surge that we can’t control.

We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available. For further assistance, clarification, or alternative options, please reach out to your dedicated sales representative.