The week-long strike at the Canadian National is set to end after the Teamsters Canada union reached a tentative agreement with the company. The work stoppage had prompted an outcry from the agricultural sector, as well as politicians, demanding Ottawa end the impasse. Here are five things to know about the freight rail industry in Canada, CN's role in it, and why the strike was causing such alarm. 1) The industry runs from coast to coast to coast, but also reaches internationally. While the rail companies move goods within Canada, some products that are destined for overseas markets are first shipped by rail to the nation's ports. 2) Most everything gets carried by rail. In 2018, the system moved more than 331.7 million tonnes of freight; coal and cargo in containers were the two largest categories, followed closely by grain. 3) The domino effects of the strike were already being felt. Grain-growers couldn't get their goods to international markets, companies also temporarily shut down and laid off employees to compensate for the strike. 4) The striking workers asked for improvements in several areas. The employees had concerns about safety, fatigue, time-off provisions and a lifetime cap on drug-insurance benefits. 5) The pressure to end it. CN wanted the Teamsters to accept binding arbitration by an independent third-party the two sides would pick together, or by the government.