Rail strike could hit Atlanta consumers hard

ATLANTA - Get ready for prices to possibly go up again on pretty much everything if rail workers go out on strike. That could hit consumers already struggling through record-high inflation.

Nearly a third of the nation’s freight moves by rail. That means the stuff you buy like food gasoline and consumer products would go up in price again.

Rail workers could go out on strike this Friday if they don’t reach a deal with management. Freight trains carry cars, coal, food, and raw materials that companies and consumers need. A shut-down or delay could ripple across the economy to the tune of billions of dollars each day. 

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That would mean the cost of filling up at the pump or buying groceries would jump at a time when metro-Atlanta and the nation are struggling economically. 

"It’s going to transfer into prices that consumers will pay at a retail store," said Dr. Saloni Firasta-Vastani, a marketing professor at Emory’s Goizuetta Business School. She says consumers would see an immediate impact if rail workers walk off the job. "Food, especially perishable products like eggs and milk," Firasta-Vastani said. "If Kroger was planning to do a buy-one-get-one-free on milk, they’re going to probably pull it because they want to maintain that supply going forward."

WHAT LED TO TALKS OF A POTENTIAL RAIL STRIKE?

A strike could make supply-chain problems even worse. There just aren’t enough trucks to pick up the shipping slack. The other system of truck is going to be overloaded. They’re going to be more expensive to move things around the country."

Shoppers like Randilyn Simon said inflation is already taking a huge bite out of their grocery bills. "I have a house full of about six people and I’m constantly in the grocery store and I can definitely see the difference," Simon said. "It’s nothing for me to go to the grocery store and spend over $100 just for the basics, eggs, bread, milk, cheese, everything. "It is what it is. I have eat, have to live. At the end of the day. I go to feed a family. I got to get to work. I got to drive."