WASHINGTON — The Shippers Coalition calls on Congress, the White House, railroads, and union leaders to act quickly to prevent a rail strike from further damaging an already fragile supply chain. The ongoing negotiations between the unions and the railroads must result in certainty for consumers looking for critical goods and for shippers across the country who ship products via both rail and truck. Any disruption in the supply chain will have detrimental impacts on the ability for goods to reach consumers and further deteriorate the country’s supply chain. As the holiday season approaches, the impacts of a railroad strike would harm consumers through supply shortages and higher prices for everyday goods. Empty shelves are unacceptable, and we urge all parties involved to resolve negotiations to protect consumers’ ability to get goods.
“Our coalition members are already struggling to cope with historically poor and costly freight rail service with no relief in sight. The nation’s supply chain is at a breaking point, and it cannot take another disruption from a rail strike,” said Alexis Oberg, Deputy Director of the Shippers Coalition. “We need all parties to come together and find a solution that prevents a strike from shutting down the economy.”
The impact of a strike on the country’s economy would be staggering- $2 billion a day- and it would reverberate through all sectors to every corner of the United States. The Shippers Coalition represents companies and trade associations in the agriculture, chemical, manufacturing, and food and beverage industries, all of which would be impacted by a strike. According to the American Chemistry Council, a member of the Shippers Coalition, a month-long strike would trigger the loss of 700,000 jobs across multiple industries, spike inflation with a four percent increase to the Producer Price Index (PPI), and pull almost $160 billion out of the economy.
“On behalf of companies throughout the U.S. dairy industry, the International Dairy Foods Association stands with other members of the Shippers Coalition in calling on Congress to step in and negotiate an agreement between rail carriers and their employees that protects our nation’s food and economic security,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO. “A strike would devastate our nation’s dairy industry, which employs more than 3.3 million Americans and relies on rail carriers to move nutritious, wholesome, and perishable dairy products to destinations throughout the country and to ports for export around the world. Congress must act without delay to prevent our nation’s food supply chain from collapsing.”
About the Shippers Coalition: The Shippers Coalition is the leading safety voice in building a more modern, safe, and environmentally friendly trucking system. The Coalition is a joint effort of more than 80 of the nation’s most prominent manufacturers, agribusinesses, and trade associations, including Anheuser-Busch, PepsiCo, the Consumer Brands Association, Niagara Bottling, Tyson Foods, Procter & Gamble, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, among others. The Shippers Coalition is the leading voice for a modern, safe, efficient, and environmentally-friendly freight transportation system. The Shippers Coalition seeks to improve supply chain fluidity and freight transportation efficiency while advancing transportation safety, reducing emissions, fuel consumption, and congestion, and protecting infrastructure.
–Shippers Coalition
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — American consumers and nearly every industry will be affected if freight trains grind to a halt next month. One of the biggest rail unions rejected its deal Monday, joining three others that have failed to approve contracts over concerns about demanding schedules and the lack of paid sick time. That raises the risk of a […]
MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), has announced nearly $8 million in grants and loans for five freight rail improvement projects across the state. The projects will lengthen rail spurs, install conveyance equipment, and increase storage capacity at Wisconsin facilities. “Wisconsin’s economy relies on a robust network of […]
MACON, Ga. — A dispute between railroad workers and U.S. rail companies reaches its “cooling off” period on Sept. 16, the deadline to prevent a lockout or strike, raising concern from the U.S. agricultural sector, which depends heavily on rail transport to move agricultural products around the country. The American Farm Bureau Federation urged Congress […]
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Major freight railroads, in a bid to apply pressure on unions and Congress, say a strike that could come after a key deadline passes next week would cost the economy more than $2 billion a day and disrupt deliveries of all kinds of goods and passenger traffic nationwide. The Association of […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing details of a framework to transform the food system to benefit consumers, producers and rural communities by providing more options, increasing access, and creating new, more, and better markets for small and mid-size producers. Today’s announcement builds on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and […]
