The Impending Railroad Strike Could Grind the Entire Economy to a Halt, Experts Warn

As time runs out for railway unions and railway companies to avoid a strike before a Friday morning deadline, logistics experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation warned that a rail strike would have a “ripple effect” that would negatively impact every facet of the U.S. economy.

Two of 12 major railway unions have yet to sign an agreement with rail companies, citing concerns regarding sick days and attendance, while a third saw its members vote down the agreement on Wednesday despite the White House-brokered deal including a record-breaking 24% pay hike over the next five years, according to the WSJ. Should the unions strike on Friday, it could prompt 7,000 long distance daily freight trains to be left idle, representing nearly 40% of all long distance trade in the United States, the largest of all forms of transit, according to CNBC.

Even a short strike would have a long-term detrimental impact on the U.S. supply chain, potentially leading to delays and elevated prices for consumers that could last for several months, Beth Davis-Sramek, professor of supply chain management at Auburn University and editor of the Journal of Business Logistics, told the DCNF. In the event that trains stop running, shipping containers would pile up at ports, causing “incredible headaches” for a trucking industry that is already facing shortages and a “ripple effect” that would be felt throughout the U.S. economy.

These delays at port would occur because modern supply chains increasingly use shipping containers that are not unpacked at ports, Davis-Sramek said. Instead, entire containers are loaded directly from ships to trains, and from trains to trucks, as part of a process known as “intermodal” shipping. (Read more from “The Impending Railroad Strike Could Grind the Entire Economy to a Halt, Experts Warn” HERE)

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