As advised yesterday the CN and CAW broke-off talks over the weekend.  CN gave a deadline to the union to accept one of the proposals on the table by Sunday midnight. CAW countered  w/proposal, however CN stated it was "economically unrealistic". CN then withdrew all offers except the original proposal from Jan. 23rd. Reports are stating that unofficial talks are continuing between the two parties, however without use of a Federal Mediator. 

There is increased pressure from the customer groups like Canadian Importers / Exporters Association, grain shippers and other domestic intermodal users on the government to step in with legislation to end this impasse.

Terminal and Ramp situations remain as advised in earlier messages.

V.I.T: Truckers still not crossing picket lines, however majority of customers are staying on the vessel and loading out from Centerm.

Waterfront: We will be monitoring flatcar situation for this week. Up until this point we have not had flatcar issues, however the risk becomes greater the longer strike continues.

Inland Ramps: Experiencing delays at ramp for truck lines. Customers are still being required to guarantee any storage charges w/CN prior to removing a load. Also due to length of lines and turn times at ramps customers are being required to guarantee standby time to truckers. Truckers have been averaging 3-4 hours wait time to enter the CN ramps. Turn time once inside the ramps has been averaging approx. 1 hr. Therefore total turn time for trucker is approx. 4-5 hours. Gate activity compared to pre-strike is approx. 50% in Calgary, Edmonton, V.I.T. and Winnipeg and 60-65%  in Montreal and Toronto. 

Please remember due to the slower transit and turn times at ramps, the empty equipment for WB usage is slowing. Therefore it is critical to confirm WB equipment availability prior to booking.

CN container business is down approx. 24-26%. The CP business is showing up by approx. 23-25%. Steamship lines that have contracts w/both rails have switched some of their business. However our understanding from various contacts is the CP is not taking any "new capacity even from existing customers".  Prior to CAW/CN strike starting, CP was having flatcar shortages in the Vancouver area causing 48-72 hour delays. The cause had been reported as weather conditions across Canada. With the increasing volumes due to the CN strike, the flatcar shortages have magnified along w/ ramp congestions for the CP.