Canadian Pacific Railway and the union representing its conductors and engineers agreed to shift stalled contract negotiations to binding arbitration on Monday, freeing the railway to resume freight shipments after a two-day work stoppage.  Josh Linville, Director of Fertilizer with Stone X Financial says the North American grain and fertilizer industries dodged a major bullet with the agreement.

He says if the strike would have continued it threatened to shut down grain and fertilizer movement.  Canada is the world’s largest phosphate supplier.

The agreement follows six months of contract negotiations and mediation with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents more than 3,000 conductors, engineers and yard workers at the railway. The union, which seeks increased wages and pension benefits and more rest times, ceased negotiations before its strike deadline Saturday night, prompting the railway to halt shipments of large volumes of manufacturing goods, natural resources and agricultural products.