TOWARD MORE FLEXIBLE ORGANIZATION - CANADIAN RAIL FREIGHT IN THE 1990S

The freight transportation sector has received relatively little atten tion in recent debates over the nature of the transformations currentl y affecting contemporary capitalism. This lack of interest is particul arly surprising given the fact that certain emergent forms of producti ve organization appear to be heavily dependent on increasingly flexibl e and efficient transport services. Within the context of these theore tical debates we review how the two dominant players in the Canadian r ail freight sector, Canadian Pacific and Canadian National, are respon ding to the evolving competitive conditions of the 1990s. Deregulation , recessionary pressures, and changing customer expectations are just some of the factors that are creating an intensifying competitive envi ronment. We then outline the responses adopted by the two companies in their attempts to improve the responsiveness and efficiency of their operations. The concluding sections of the article focus on some of th e broader spatial and theoretical implications of the findings. We sho w that while this sector has undergone considerable change in recent y ears current 'post-Fordist' theories of industrial restructuring can p rovide, at best, only a partial explanation of the processes observed.