The walkout by workers that began October 6 is costing shippers of iron ore, coal, chrome, ferrochrome and manganese about 815 million rand a day.

The result signals continued discontent over compensation, working conditions and sick-leave policies among some of the more than 100,000 union-represented workers of U.S. freight railroads.

Shippers are worried about the railways’ ability to haul grain, as Canadian farmers harvest the nation’s third-biggest wheat crop on record and 42% more canola than a year ago.

“Not only are trains convenient and comfortable, they are also one of the most sustainable modes of transportation,” Amtrak chief executive officer Stephen Gardner said in a statement.

The underlying strategies that strengthened railroads’ bottom lines have caused friction with customers, regulators and particularly workers — giving rise to a contract dispute that threatened a nationwide shutdown of the railway system.

The recently enacted Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 gave the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission stronger oversight of how ocean carriers and marine terminals treat shippers. Now, FMC is being called on to wield some of that power.

The deal announced before dawn on the morning of Sept. 15 came less than 24 hours before a deadline Sept. 16 that could have led to a shutdown of rail operations across the U.S.

The agreement now heads to union members for a ratification vote, which is a standard procedure in labor talks. While the vote is tallied, workers have agreed not to strike.

A strike — the first since 1992 — could cost the U.S. economy $2bn a day, according to a recently issued Association of American Railroads report, and workers say they will quit an industry already facing staff shortages.

The White House urged labor unions and freight-rail operators to come to an agreement in contract talks, with mounting concern that a strike as soon as Sept. 16 could damage the U.S. economy and Democrats’ midterm election prospects.