NRF Breathes Sigh of Relief Over Tentative Railway Settlement

The National Retail Federation is “relieved and cautiously optimistic” that the “devastating nationwide rail strike has been averted,” said CEO Matthew Shay Thursday. Freight rail is “critical to the retail supply chain, and retailers of every size rely on it to move cargo every day,” said Shay in a previous statement Wednesday. “A strike would have devastating consequences for retailers’ supply chains and could cripple the U.S. economy.” The tentative agreement means “our economy can avert the significant damage any shutdown would have brought,” said President Joe Biden in a statement Thursday.