Indiana makes cars and grows food and requires trains for both of those endeavors and for many others. That’s why a possible railroad strike could affect Indiana and force you to pay more.

“With inflation, at abnormally high levels, and a few months ago at historic levels, and the supply chain issues, etc., this would be a real tipping point,” said Indiana Chamber CEO Kevin Brinegar, talking to our newsgathering partners at WISH TV.

You could end up paying more for food because Indiana’s farmers ship their crops via train. Car manufacturers get parts by train and ship new cars out on trains, which could lead to a car and truck shortage.

““We’ve got the highest concentration of people employed in manufacturing as a percentage of our overall workforce of any state in the country, so its arguable Indiana would be affected negatively by a rail strike much or more than any other state in the country,” said Brinegar.

The possible strike by workers represented by 12 unions is over time off, not money.

“$2 billion a day would be lost, but honestly that’s minor to what the real and lasting long term impact would be,” said IU Kelley School of Business Prof. Carl Briggs.

Railroad bosses are confident that a deal can still be worked out. If not, the strike could happen by the end of the month.