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Agriculture braces for another round of supply chain disruptions if railways, ports strike
The US ag sector is preparing for another blow to its supply chain as the potential for strikes at railways and ports are becoming a reality.
Mike Steenhoek with the Soy Transportation Coalition says a railroad strike could disrupt shipments of grain and inputs. “Being able to get product to our customers whether they are domestic or international, are key customers for soybeans and soybean meal area actual animals. Animals need feed. Having any kind of disruption to that for a long period of time will raise a concern for us because it impacts our profitability.”
This is the latest in a string of supply chain issues farmers have been dealing with since the coronavirus pandemic.
Railroad companies have until Friday, September 16th to reach an agreement before a strike or slowdown happens.
BNSF, CSX Transportation, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, Canadian National and Union Pacific have reached a tentative agreement with eight of the 12 workers’ unions. The group has been meeting with an emergency board the Biden administration created to arbitrate disputes over wages, health care and time off. The collection of unions represents 140,000 railroad workers.
Steenhoek tells Brownfield if dock workers at some West Coast ports strike, “Any kind of pork export, meat export, poultry export that occurs in these refrigerated containers, they would be severely impacted by that, which then has an impact on the soybean industry because we feed livestock.”
Dock workers, who load and unload shipping containers, have been negotiating for a new contract that expired in June for higher wages, jurisdictional responsibility and reduction in automation.
He says the transportation sector, including barges and over-the-road truckers, is not equipped to handle an increase in shipping demand if one or both industries have a stoppage. “Our barge industry just does not have the capacity to absorb in terms of volume what railroads transport. But, also, for a lot of areas of the country due to geographic distance, they can’t tap into the inland waterway system. It’s not even an option for them.”
Last week, the STC joined a large group of agricultural organizations that signed a letter to congressional leaders urging them to prevent a lockout or strike if the parties don’t reach an agreement this week.
Friday is Sept 16