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Harrison stands by CP handling of Canadian grain backlog
“…our usual service levels aren’t being met…”? Pretty sure CP’s service level has always sucked.
Well said EH…
Canadian winters have been around for longer than Harrison’s slash-and-burn methods.
It wasn’t Winter that prompted Harrison to run underpowered, over-siding-length trains to foul the system’s fluidity. It wasn’t Winter who caused Harrison to remove sidings and close terminals. It wasn’t Winter that caused CP to lay off employees that are now sorely missed. It wasn’t Winter who caused experienced management staff to be fired, or who to just leave their own, disgusted at Creele and Harrison’s heavy-handed methods. Operating chaos is what Harrison generally produces and leaves behind. That’s what he did at CN anyway. Now it will take years for current CN management to de-hunterize the railroad and change the corporate culture into a growth-oriented railroad (something that’s been happening at American Class I RR since the early 90’s, but Harrison doesn’t like fluid, growing and prosperous railroads).
As for CP shareholders, enjoy the steady stream of profits and dividends while they last. Ten years from now, what you’ll get a severely undercapitalized and undermaintained plant, a shrinked customer base and market share, and nobody left who actually knows how to properly run a RR. Good job mr Ackman, only someone like Icahn could possibly do worse.
“Adding more cars to the system when it is congested and being negatively impacted by weather is exactly the wrong thing to do. It’s like adding more cars to a highway at rush hour – everything moves that much slower,” he explains.
This reader adds: But if people are walking because they have no cars its not that bad of an idea.
Hunter keeps cutting and down sizing resources, the service will only get worse. This guy runs a terrible railroad for the customers.
CPR and CNR are being squeezed by the Canadian Gov!t mainly to apease the western farm community, Prime Minister Harper is looking for Western Farm VOTES ,The New Young Liberal Leader in the name of Justin Trudeau is picking up a lot of attention and forcing Harper to squarm a little in his chair. The Federal election is comming up in 2015 ,. Need more be said ???
Interesting to see how this will work out. Harrison has a reputation as a hard nose guy…. well he just ran into the Canadian grain farmer.
Starting with the Crow Rate and moving right on up to the present the issue of grain transportation is the source of enormous Western Canadian historical discontent. It’s one of the big reasons there is virtually no liberal representation in government from Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains. These historical roots have bred generations of mistrust and even spawned separatist sentiment in the West.
If Harrison doesn’t get that grain moving he will hear about it continuously from a variety of sources probably until the end of time. He’s already hearing something or he wouldn’t be taking out full page ads. Perfect storm indeed……