03:37 PM EDT, 08/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with Canadian Pacific Kansas City's response in the fifth paragraph.)

Union Pacific ( UNP ) Chief Executive Officer Jim Vena said in a letter to Canadian Labor Minister Steve MacKinnon on Monday that a potential rail strike in Canada will result in "devastating consequences" for the North American economy

More than 2,500 of the company's cars per day won't be able to cross the border, and "any strike or lockout will have a negative impact on the entire rail industry," Vena said.

Railroad operators Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) and Canadian National Railway (CNI) face a work stoppage by Teamsters, which could start as early as Thursday after talks on a new labor contract haven't reached an agreement, Reuters reported Tuesday.

"A prolonged shutdown could have even more significant implications," a Union Pacific ( UNP ) spokesperson said in an email to MT Newswires. "As Union Pacific ( UNP ) adheres to embargos related to the potential lockout, we are working to minimize impact to our customers and the US supply chain."

Canadian Pacific is committed to resolve this issue and is still on the negotiations table, the company told MT Newswires. "We recognize that disruption is already occurring and will intensify until this dispute is resolved," the company said. "Delaying resolution to this labour dispute will only make things worse."

Canadian National Railway and Teamsters Canada didn't immediately respond to requests for comment by MT Newswires.

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