Order ending Canadian rail work stoppage appealed

: Agriculture, Biofuels, Chemicals, Coal, Coking coal, Crude oil, Fertilizers, Freight, LPG, Metals, Oil products, Petrochemicals, Petroleum coke
24/08/30

A Canadian rail employees union is appealing federal government orders that last week forced the resumption of rail service and sent the union and two railroads to binding arbitration.

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) filed an appeal with the Federal Court of Appeal on Thursday, challenging labour minister Steven MacKinnon's order ending the work stoppage and sending the parties to binding arbitration under the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). The union also appealed CIRB's 24 August decision upholding that order.

"These decisions, if left unchallenged, set a dangerous precedent where a single politician can bust a union at will," union president Paul Boucher said.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) declined to comment on the appeal, saying only that "operations continue and recovery is progressing well."

Canadian National (CN) did not address the appeal directly but said it is prepared to participate in binding arbitration. "While that process is ongoing, we are focusing on our recovery plan and powering the economy," CN said.

MacKinnon's 22 August order ended the work stoppage less than 18 hours after the union launched a strike at CPKC, while CPKC and CN locked out union members. The work stoppage froze ongoing rail operations, even though shipments of hazardous materials and other products had already ceased.

The union subsequently notified CN that members would go on strike on 26 August. That strike was averted by the CIRB ruling on MacKinnon's order.

By Abby Caplan

Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

25/06/23

China sulacid exports reach record in Jan-May

London, 23 June (Argus) — China's sulphuric acid exports hit a record high for the period in January-May, driven by greater acid availability following the expansion of smelting capacity and strong fob prices. China exported 1.8mn t of sulphuric acid in January-May, more than double the 870,000t exported a year earlier, customs data show. The previous high for January-May was in 2022, at 1.7mn t. China's smelting capacity has risen this year, notably with the launch of Tongling Nonferrous' 500,000 t/yr Jinxin copper smelter in Tongling city in east China's Anhui province on 26 March. Exports are expected to remain buoyant, with smelting capacity rising by over 1mn t/yr in 2025, according to industry estimates. Additional support came from firmer Chinese fob prices in January-May, driven by tight spot availability from Asian suppliers — mainly South Korean and Japanese — as a lack of metal concentrates and maintenance outages limited production. Global copper concentrate supply is expected to remain tight this year, weighing on copper concentrate treatment and refining charges. Chile was the main recipient of Chinese acid in January-May, taking 715,000t, up by 56pc on the year. Exports to Indonesia and Saudi Arabia rose sharply — to 216,000t and 195,000t, respectively, up from 50,000t each a year earlier. Morocco received 176,000t, more than doubling its 81,000t take a year earlier. By Lili Minton China exports vs fob price Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

LNG as marine fuel demand could rise by '35: Correction

25/06/23

LNG as marine fuel demand could rise by '35: Correction

Corrects statement on US LNG exports in paragraph 6. New York, 23 June (Argus) — Demand for LNG as a marine fuel will increase within the next 10 years if supply is boosted by exports from the US and Russia, according to Danish bunker supplier Monjasa. An increase in US and Russian LNG exports would make it a more viable option in the marine fuel market compared with conventional bunker fuel, Monjasa chief executive, Anders Østergaard said today at the Marine Money convention in New York. "If more Russian and more American LNG would come into the global markets, then I truly believe — and we've seen that before the war between Russia and Ukraine — that the price of LNG would beat the price of both fuel oil and diesel oil," Østergaard said. Conventional marine fuels, such as high-sulphur fuel oil and very low-sulphur fuel oil, will remain the dominant fuels in the bunker market in the next 10 years like it is today, according to Østergaard. Demand for other potential alternative marine fuels, like ammonia and methanol, are not likely to pick up by 2035 because the cost to use those fuels is not competitive unless regulations to use those fuels are changed, he said. The US is currently the largest global LNG exporter. Former US president Joe Biden's administration paused issuing export licenses for new LNG terminals last year. President Donald Trump lifted the ban earlier this year and has been approving export licenses for proposed LNG terminals. The EU has relied less on Russian gas and oil imports since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and it is proposing to phase out all gas and oil imports by January 2028. By Luis Gronda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Qatar closes airspace as 'precaution'

25/06/23

Qatar closes airspace as 'precaution'

London, 23 June (Argus) — Qatar today closed its airspace in what it called a "precautionary measure". The move came after the US embassy in Qatar ordered its citizens to "shelter in place". The UK followed this, with both embassies saying the order was "out of an abundance of caution". The Qatari government said the embassies' warnings did not "necessarily reflect the existence of specific threats". The country's foreign office said the airspace closure was undertaken "based on developments in the region". Tehran said today that US airstrikes have expanded the range of legitimate military targets for its armed forces, and Qatar hosts the US' largest military base in the Middle East. Closure of Qatari airspace will make traversing the Mideast Gulf region by air more complicated. Air traffic tracking data show a complete absence of aircraft over Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran, with all flights from east to west diverting either north or south of this region. By Ben Winkley Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Potential Hormuz closure threatens ferts, sulphur trade

25/06/23

Potential Hormuz closure threatens ferts, sulphur trade

London, 23 June (Argus) — Iran's threat to "close" the strait of Hormuz in response to the US military attack on its nuclear sites over the weekend risks disrupting 20-50pc of international trade in urea, sulphur, phosphate and ammonia. The risk is primarily to buyers of fertilizer and associated raw materials outside the Mideast Gulf as, with the exception of sulphuric acid, potash and some niche products, the flow of trade is dominated by exports. Fully half of global seaborne sulphur trade originates from the Mideast Gulf — 20mn t this year, according to Argus Analytics — which goes primarily to China, Morocco and Tunisia, and for mining users in southern and central Africa. Sulphur is a key raw material for making phosphate fertilizers. Some substitution for sulphur by merchant sulphuric acid is possible but the sulphuric acid markets are already tight. Urea markets also have a substantial degree of exposure to potential disruption to shipments from the Mideast Gulf, with around a third of seaborne trade supplied from the region. Exports from the Mideast Gulf are forecast at around 18mn t this year by Argus Analytics , from a global total of 56mn t. The major destinations for Middle East urea during the third quarter each year are typically Brazil, India, Thailand and Australia. Ammonia exports from the Mideast Gulf account for around a fifth of global trade. Shipments this year from Mideast Gulf producers averaged around 365,000 t/month, according to Argus ' tracking of loaded vessels, with the main buyers being fertilizer producers in India and Morocco, which have taken 830,000t and 315,000t, respectively, and mostly industrial buyers in South Korea, which have taken 335,000t. For phosphates, the main risk is to the supply of MAP and DAP from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's Ma'aden produces around 20pc of the 17mn t/yr of seaborne trade in MAP and 14pc of the 12mn t/yr of DAP trade, with India typically the largest recipient of the latter, in terms of quantity, during the third quarter. All DAP and MAP shipments, plus some NPS, are loaded from Ras al-Khair. On the import side, the greatest impact from any disruption to shipments in the region would be on sulphuric acid. Ma'aden is expected to import around 700,000t of sulphuric acid through Ras al-Khair in 2025, and line-up data show nearly 500,000t of acid will be shipped in the first seven months of the year, mainly from Asia-Pacific origins such as west coast India and China. Few alternative loading mechanisms are available to bypass any disruption to the strait of Hormuz. The UAE port of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman can load bulk cargoes, but in the event of significant regional disruption the port might not be able to prioritise fertilizer exports over other commodities. It is also on the far side of the country from the urea and sulphur production facilities. Saudi Arabia has several Red Sea ports, but distances overland from production sites close to the Mideast Gulf make this route operationally and commercially challenging. The threat of disruption has so far not prevented trade in and stevedoring of cargoes within the region — including shipments from Iran's ports of Bandar Imam Khomeini and Asaluyeh — which continued over the weekend. By Bede Heren Mideast Gulf fertilizer and related raw material exports Product Exports (t/yr) % of seaborne trade Sulphur 20,058 50 Urea 17,978 32 Ammonia 3,635 21 MAP 3,480 20 includes exports from Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE — Argus Analytics Mideast Gulf ports Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Subsidised bio-LNG deemed eligible under FuelEU

25/06/23

Subsidised bio-LNG deemed eligible under FuelEU

London, 23 June (Argus) — Subsidised bio-LNG and other types of alternative fuels are deemed eligible under FuelEU Maritime Regulation, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. FuelEU allows emissions reductions supported under other legal frameworks, such as the support schemes under RED, in order to encourage greater investment in less carbon-intensive marine fuels. Under Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (RED), the greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions are counted towards member states' targets, while under FuelEU the targets are set to shipping companies. Excluding subsidised marine fuels may otherwise lead to competitive disadvantages for smaller sectors, such as European biomethane. The European Commission has not yet issued an official statement. Demand for bio-LNG has risen sharply this year with the start of FuelEU Maritime in January, requiring ship-owners to reduce their GHG emissions by 2pc in 2025, with targets steadily rising to 80pc in 2050. Subsidised, bunker dob bio-LNG in Northwest Europe was last assessed at €78.09/MWh ($89.55/MWh) on Thursday, while its unsubsidised counterpart was assessed at €93.59/MWh. By Madeleine Jenkins Bio-LNG vs Gas €/MWh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more