The U.S. supply chain could see slight disruptions after a shutdown at Canada's two biggest rail networks, experts told Becker's.
Freight traffic on Canada's two largest rail networks suddenly stopped Aug. 22 after failed negotiations between the Teamsters labor union, which represents about 10,000 railroad employees, and Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City.
Work fully resumed Aug. 26 after the federal government stepped in. Teamsters said it will comply but plans to appeal the ruling.
Peter Follows, CEO of Toronto-based consulting firm Carpedia, said one day of interrupted railway service can cause a week of backlog.
Katie Kortie, vice president of assurance and continuity at Vizient, told Becker's her team is monitoring the labor issue and not expecting issues in the U.S. healthcare supply chain.
"While many industries will be impacted by the work stoppage, there are limited products specific to healthcare," Ms. Kortie said. "At this time, information we have received from suppliers is that they are not anticipating supply disruptions.”
Mr. Follows echoed her comments, adding that the event can highlight vulnerabilities in an organization's supply chain resiliency plan.
"Although this disruption may not have the anticipated repercussions, organizations should still expect some delays in railway-dependent supplies," Mr. Follows said. "Supply chains cannot be simply turned on and off like a light switch."