Canada’s freight rail transport could come to a grinding halt after the country’s two biggest railroad operators announced an unprecedented, simultaneous work stoppage following deadlocked talks over labor contracts.

Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City said they had locked out their workers and shut their networks in the country early on Thursday after last-minute talks with the Teamsters union failed to avert a costly stoppage.

Canada, the world’s second-largest country by area, relies heavily on railways to transport grain, automobiles, potash, coal and other goods. The railways transport about C$380 billion ($277 billion) worth of goods and commodities annually, and the impact of the rail stoppage is expected to be felt across North America.

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