Trucking Industry Calls on Congress to Help Resolve Rail Labor Dispute

The American Trucking Associations is calling on Congress to help resolve ongoing labor negotiations in the freight rail industry should the parties fail to reach a mutual agreement when the current cooling off period expires on September 16. The trucking industry is freight rail’s largest customer, and in a letter sent to Capitol Hill today, ATA is warning of dire consequences for the U.S. supply chain if a strike were to go into effect.

“Idling all 7,000 long distance daily freight trains in the U.S. would require more than 460,000 additional long-haul trucks every day, which is not possible based on equipment availability and an existing shortage of 80,000 drivers,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear in the letter. “As such, any rail service disruption will create havoc in the supply chain and fuel inflationary pressures across the board.”

The letter urges Congress to help implement a contract patterned on the recommendations outlined by the Presidential Emergency Board and cautions against merely extending the negotiation timeline further, which would push a potential strike deeper into the holiday season when the supply chain is already under added pressure.
more at: https://www.trucking.org/news-insights/trucking-industry-calls-congress-help-resolve-rail-labor-dispute

Back To Top
×Close search
Search