NORTH Shore port terminal operators say they're relieved to see an end to CP Rail's nine-day strike.
Unionized rail workers represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference went back to work Friday after the federal government legislated them back to work.
Many customers of North Shore terminals rely on CP Rail to get their products - including coal, potash and grain - to the port.
Jim Belsheim, president of Neptune Terminals, said his company managed to continue work by using up inventory stored at the terminal.
"It's critical for us as a shipper of Canadian goods to retain a reputation as a reliable shipper," he said. Inventory at the site is now running low, he said.
Neptune usually receives up to 1,000 trains of coal and potash a year.
Grain handlers, like the North Shore's James Richardson terminal, have also been nervously keeping tabs on the strike.
Grain terminals don't usually stockpile inventory at the port. Under the legislation, the government will appoint a mediator who will have 90 days to settle the labour dispute between CP and its unionized workers.
CP's previous agreement with the union - which represents about 4,500 locomotive engineers, conductors, yardmen and rail traffic controllers - expired Dec. 31.
Proposed cuts to pensions have been one of the key issues in the dispute.
