St. Albert’s Dura-Line conduit manufacturing facility is waiting on a railroad car full of resin that is held up in Saskatchewan now that Canada’s two largest railways have shut down operations.
Dura-Line uses the resin to make protective casing for electrical wires, and if the railway shutdown continues, the conduit’s price may rise, said sales manager Justin Faryna.
“We won’t slow down production,” Faryna said. “However … we’ll have to use the alternative of trucking in resin, and therefore increase the cost.”
Faryna couldn’t say how much trucking in resin, which can come from as far as Texas, would cost the company, only that it’s “significantly more than rail car.”
The resin comes in different “grades” that are used to make different casings.
“That rail car in Saskatchewan is a particular grade of resin that we produce to make a special product, which … can delay contractors if we can't get it out quick enough,” he said.
Still, he said that the company did not expect to miss any orders.
If Dura-Line raises prices, budgets for some construction projects could rise, Faryna said.
“Ultimately, there are budgets set out for projects,” he said. “It could cause cancellation of projects if they’re over budget.”
“I just hope they’re able to resolve the issue quickly, in a fair manner.”
Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. locked out engineers, yard workers and conductors Thursday morning, initiating the shutdown.
The railways have been in negotiations with the Teamsters union representing over 9,000 railway workers across the countrty, but the parties failed to reach a contract agreement by Wednesday night’s deadline.
Premier Danielle Smith issued a statement Thursday afternoon urging the federal government to intervene with binding arbitration or reconvene parliament to pass back-to-work legislation.
