Railroads continue to play a significant role in North America’s economic infrastructure. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration, the U.S. rail freight network covers almost 140,000 route miles and is generally considered the largest, safest, and most cost-efficient freight system in the world. In addition, says the FRA, the almost $80 billion rail freight industry creates more than 167,000 jobs across the country.
In essence, rail freight companies charge businesses to carry cargo across their network of rails. Their rates are overseen by the Surface Transportation Board, a federal agency that regulates financial aspects of surface transportation. Major railroads in North America include Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National Railway.
Keep up with the latest news, trends and reports concerning rail freight transport here!
The technology upgrades at 12 points of entry along the borders of Canada and Mexico will enable U.S. Customs and Border Protection to inspect rail cargo more quickly and securely, according to CBP.
The attorney who led the legal effort said U.S. chassis producers are ramping up because of the import fees.
Following the Surface Transportation Board’s decision on Monday regarding CN’s proposed merger with Kansas City Southern, both CN and Canadian Pacific remained confident that each is the better suitor for KCS.
Executives with wireless network provider Ondas Networks describe how private telecommunications networks benefit the Class I railroads as well as other transportation modes.
Wabtec’s battery-electric locomotive can reduce a train’s fuel consumption by 11%, a three-month study involving the company, BNSF and the San Joaquin Pollution Control District found.
Democratic leaders with the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure want the General Accountability Office to examine the effects that precision scheduled railroading has had on freight and passenger rail operations, rail safety and the labor workforce.
The Surface Transportation Board has decided that it would review a proposed merger between CN and Kansas City Southern under newer, stricter merger rules. The board also denied for now CN’s request to form a voting trust, saying CN’s application is incomplete.
Union Pacific is investigating why a train hauling 28 cars derailed in Minnesota as emergency responders contend with a hydrochloric acid leak.
U.S. rail traffic slipped last week from the prior week, although they’re still up by double-digit percentage points year-over-year, according to data from the Association of American Railroads.
FreightWaves looks at five themes that ran throughout the earnings discussions of the Class I railroads.
CN revised its bid to acquire KCS; CP said it will not seek to counterbid.
Pioneer Lines, Kansas City Southern and Conrail have appointed new leaders.
“First Class I railroad in North America to issue green bonds,” Norfolk Southern shares plans for environmental projects.
Cass freight data released Wednesday shows shipments and expenditures surged again in April.
The U.S. Department of Transportation wants the Surface Transportation Board to take up Amtrak’s request asking to establish passenger service between Mobile and New Orleans.
Rivals Canadian Pacific and CN separately submit more statements of support to the Surface Transportation Board in a bid to show which Canadian railway is best suited to merge with Kansas City Southern.
Freight car and rail parts manufacturer National Steel Car is extending a suspension of operations at its facility Hamilton, Ontario, amid a local order and COVID-19 cases at the facility.
Tremelle Sykes allegedly filed false reports covering railyard companies in Dallas, Fort Worth, Garland, Cleburne, Gunter and Saginaw, Texas.
The Surface Transportation Board has approved the voting trust that Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern plan to make as part of the merger process between the two companies.
By either the standard of seasonal or not seasonal jobs, gains in employment are slow given the demand for drivers.
A market recovery is underway for railcar lessors and equipment manufacturers, but the market also has a ways to go before it bounces back completely, according to industry observations.
Steel and chemicals were among the commodities that showed volume strength in April, according to the Association of American Railroads. North American intermodal volumes grew 10.5% in the first quarter, said the Intermodal Association of North America.
Anticipated growth for intermodal will help to support Hub Group’s investments for that sector in 2021.
Billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, the largest shareholder of Canadian railway CN, is giving 14.1 million shares of the company to soon-to-be ex-wife Melinda Gates.
Union Pacific to open an intermodal terminal in Southern California, Port of South Louisiana completes rail yard, plus two appointments: Michael McCarthy to become SMBC Rail Services president and CEO, and Karen Carriere joins Transportation Technology Center Inc. as executive director of technical services.
Amtrak must follow new on-time performance metrics starting July 1. Democratic congressional leaders and the Surface Transportation Board are looking at different ways to help Amtrak reach that goal. Amtrak and the freight railroads share track in certain U.S. regions.
CN and Canadian Pacific continue to campaign for the hearts and votes of Kansas City Southern stakeholders and the Surface Transportation Board.
Executives with parent company Berkshire Hathaway expect BNSF to take steps to protect the railroad’s franchise as the merger between Kansas City Southern and one of the Canadian railways makes its way through regulatory review.
Union Pacific is constructing a grain transload facility at its intermodal terminal near Chicago, while two U.S. senators introduce bipartisan legislation to form a grant program that aims to reduce highway-rail grade crossings.
The Biden administration has nominated Karen Hedlund to serve on the Surface Transportation Board.
Norfolk Southern aims to add longer trains, improve car velocity and provide more technological tools for customers and for safety inspections, with an eye toward future competition with autonomous trucks.
First-quarter operating ratio was 61.5%, compared with an adjusted operating ratio of 63.7% in the first quarter of 2020.
The costs to electrify freight rail in the U.S., albeit expensive, extend beyond strictly capital costs to questions about electric grid reliability and how best to address decarbonization.
CN outlined some scenarios in which a merged railway can compete with long-haul trucking.
A portal to provide agricultural shippers with visibility for their covered hopper cars will help them conform to food safety transportation standards and prevent cross-contact with food allergens.
Canadian railway CN reported net profit of CA$974 million in the first quarter of 2021, a 3.7% decline from the first quarter of 2020.
The Canadian railway CN and Kansas City Southern have agreed to talk about CN’s acquisition bid. Canadian Pacific, which has a competing offer, acknowledges the meeting. CN also submits letters of support from stakeholders to regulators.
OmniTRAX is working with the River Ridge Development Authority of southern Indiana to develop real estate, while a Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary broadens its rail service agreement to include service to the Mason Mega Rail Terminal at the Port of Savannah.
The Surface Transportation Board has determined that a waiver that exempted Kansas City Southern from post-2001 merger rules governing rail mergers applies in the proposed merger between KCS and Canadian Pacific.
Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, chair of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is concerned that efforts by rival Canadian railways to acquire Kansas City Southern could usher in more consolidations in the freight rail sector.
With a Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern merger, grain shippers in the Dakotas will have a real single-line option to reach their end markets rather than having to rely solely on UP or BNSF, says former U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan.
The Surface Transportation Board will need to scrutinize a proposed merger between Kansas City Southern and either Canadian Pacific or CN to ensure it doesn’t hurt the operations of competing railroads, Union Pacific’s head said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call.
Wabtec is working with railroad customers to transition from diesel power to cut emissions.
FreightWaves introduces FreightWaves Carbon Intelligence. Learn more here!
A 4% drop in operating revenue contributed to a 9% decline in net income for Union Pacific’s first quarter.
For now, Canadian Pacific is not planning to take part in a bidding war with rival CN to acquire Kansas City Southern, saying that its offer is more likely to meet regulators’ litmus test for mergers.
Canadian Pacific’s revenue for the first quarter of 2021 dipped 4% to CA$1.96 billion.
Canadian Pacific and CN both filed letters to the Surface Transportation Board asking the panel to consider the merits of their competing requests to acquire Kansas City Southern.
CSX has capacity on its network, space on its trains and the workforce and locomotives it needs to handle an anticipated growth in service needs in 2021, according to company executives.
CP, which is also seeking to acquire KCS, describes rival CN’s bid to acquire KCS as “massively complex and likely to fail” because it decreases competition.
CSX’s first-quarter net income fell 8% to $706 million from $770 million a year ago.
A merged CN and Kansas City Southern would compete against long-haul trucking for north-south intermodal opportunities, CN said Tuesday.
Not to be outdone by rival Canadian Pacific, CN offers to acquire Kansas City Southern for $33.7 billion.
Union Pacific plans to close a car repair facility in Palestine, Texas, which could result in the layoffs of as many as 57 employees.
This AskWaves column explains why investors and other transportation stakeholders look at operating ratio as a way to gauge a company’s financial health.
Kansas City Southern expects to maintain its financial targets for 2021 on a recovering economy and an anticipated volume rebound. It declined to comment on post-merger operational changes.
Cass data published Friday highlights new records as volumes reaccelerate and rates soar.
Kansas City Southern’s net income for the first quarter of 2021 rose 0.7% despite a 4% decline in revenue and a 1% drop in carload volumes.
U.S. weekly rail volumes were 24.5% higher last week, although last year’s figures reflect the volume downturn that occurred at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Department of Justice raised concerns about how Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern are using a voting trust to facilitate their proposed merger. The two railroads respond.
Potential service disruptions from the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger could be a key issue explored by regulators reviewing the merger, FTR says. The consulting firm also projects favorable market conditions for intermodal rail and carloads in 2021 and into 2022.
Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern provided the Surface Transportation Board 75 more letters explaining why their proposed merger should be approved.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators will look into what led to the death of a 24-year veteran of BNSF at a customer facility in Missouri.
The Surface Transportation Board’s final rule on what information should be included in a demurrage billing statement provides transparency and accountability in a process shippers sometimes see as opaque.
U.S. rail traffic rose 14% in March amid higher grain and intermodal volumes. But some commodities are also reflecting uneven year-over-year comparisons because of the pandemic-induced volume downturn that began in late March 2020.
Railcar manufacturer Greenbrier expects economic conditions and the rail market to improve in the second half of the year and that optimism is starting to be reflected in higher inquiry activity.
Engage Construction Management and Consulting Inc. has been selected for the Canadian piece of a $1 billion infrastructure project connecting Mexico’s Pacific Coast to Winnipeg, Canada.
The Surface Transportation Board defines what billing information should be included in demurrage invoices to rail users as a means to provide more transparency.
Canadian Pacific submitted to the Surface Transportation Board 45 more letters of support from shippers and other stakeholders for the proposed merger of CP and Kansas City Southern.
CN beat its previous March record of 2.74 million metric tons set in 2020, moving 2.95 million metric tons last month.
Wabtec’s chief technology officer chats with FreightWaves about ways technology can help the freight rail industry decarbonize.
Two rail shipper coalition groups and four Class I railroads want the Surface Transportation Board to review Canadian Pacific’s proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern under “new” rules that gauge whether a merger would enhance market competition.
The March report may be the last for a while in which a comparison to last year is meaningful.
The pandemic-induced volume downturn from last year is making year-over-year comparisons inflated. However, strength in the consumer economy could support rail volumes.
Other highlights from the monthly report: Soaring employment in warehouses is starting to moderate.
Freight rail associations and shippers praise President Joe Biden’s efforts to modernize U.S. transportation infrastructure, but some are worried about how to foot the costs. Also, congressional leaders introduce bills on railcar recycling, highway grade crossings, and loans for rail and intermodal facilities.
FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller writes about FreightWaves, as well as transportation today and moving forward.
Canadian Pacific has submitted a 531-page filing to the Surface Transportation Board that includes letters from 259 entities supporting the proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern.
The $3.7 billion partnership calls for the construction of a $1.9 billion passenger rail bridge that would relieve traffic from the Long Bridge.
CN is selling its noncore assets in southern Ontario, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin to Watco.
The Georgia Ports Authority has approved projects to increase the annual container capacity at the Port of Savannah to over 6 million TEUs from the existing 4.7 million TEUs.
This transaction will benefit the automotive supply and distribution network throughout North America.
Employment totals for the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads were flat to higher between January and February, rising 0.5%. But headcount was down nearly 11% year-over-year. Also, rail union BMWED is monitoring CP’s proposed merger with KCS.
VIP Rail and Procor announce partnership that provides Procor’s railcar repair and cleaning services to VIP Rail customers in Ontario, while Navis Rail develops a workforce management system.
Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: KCS expands Mexico rail service to Port of Veracruz; furniture maker leases space in Laredo, PGT Trucking opens new terminals in Arizona and Arkansas; and CBP seizes $1.4 million in drugs in Laredo.
February rail service issues are still being felt in March, raising concerns about the Canadian rail network’s ability to handle increased grain volumes in future years.
An anticipated increase in North American rail traffic, coupled with FreightCar America’s move of its manufacturing to Mexico, should provide support to the company in 2021, executives said.
Union Pacific and logistics company Savage Services are constructing Idaho’s first-ever intermodal terminal at UP’s rail yard in Pocatello.
CSX must again file its plans to acquire New England short line Pan Am Railways as a “significant” transaction.
Canadian Pacific wants to acquire Kansas City Southern. Here are five thoughts from Wall Street transportation analysts about the transaction.
STB Chair Marty Oberman shares the board’s views on two proposed acquisitions: CSX’s acquisition of New England short line Pan Am Railways and Canadian Pacific’s merger with Kansas City Southern.
Rail technology provider Wabtec plans to acquire Nordco as Wabtec eyes the railcar mover market and the technologies associated with it.
The publicly traded Class I railroads expect rail volumes to improve this year despite severe winter weather curtailing operations in February.
Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern executives outline the benefits and the rationale behind CP’s proposed acquisition of KCS.
Canadian railway Canadian Pacific plans to merge with Kansas City Southern in a deal worth $29 billion.
Short line operator Vermont Rail System and legislators from Vermont and Massachusetts question how CSX and Norfolk Southern would handle joint ownership of Pan Am Southern because it would involve a competing short line railroad
Two bullish equity research reports this week on transportation stocks both highlight expectations around consumer spending and what that means for freight demand.
Amtrak wants to establish passenger rail service between Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, but CSX, Norfolk Southern and the Port of Mobile have some reservations. Amtrak has filed a petition with the Surface Transportation Board to turn its plan into fruition.
Wabtec, short line operator Genesee & Wyoming and Carnegie Mellon aim to establish public-private institute that would research, demonstrate and commercialize advanced freight rail technology.
February freight data from Cass shows a deceleration in the growth rates of shipments and expenditures. Recent weather events have only “coiled the spring” for a continuation of high demand and rising rates.
