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!
Although the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee has voted in favor of the nomination of an additional board member to the Surface Transportation Board (STB), whether and when she will be installed remains to be seen.
Brian Aoaeh writes about changes that need to be made to the food supply chain to deter food waste and food loss.
“Without documented strategies for how it plans to communicate the results of its research, FRA may lose an opportunity to effectively work with internal and external stakeholders – such as railroads, rail workers and local communities – to address any risks of operating longer trains in support of the agency’s mission of enabling the safe, efficient and reliable transportation of people and goods.”
Atlas Air has won an injunction ordering pilots that have been staging sickouts and delays to stop the practice.
Maersk’s (Nasdaq OMX: MAER) fight to bring automation to its largest North American marine terminal is getting support from shippers and non-ocean carriers concerned about the impact on the environment and the precedent of government overreach into the future of freight. The world’s biggest shipping line faces a do-over as the Los Angeles Board of […]
Jim Blaze writes about railroad movement of scrap – the market today and the future of the market.
This morning (July 8) Morgan Stanley’s transports equities analysts cut their 12-month price targets for most of the companies they cover, but said that following the release of second quarter earnings it may be time to invest in the cyclical stocks again. The analyst team, led by Ravi Shanker, expects second quarter results for transportation […]
Ben Thrower profiles Virgin Trains USA’s plans for private passenger service in Florida, Nevada and California. Richard Branson changed air travel; will he be able to do the same thing with passenger train service in the USA?
FreightWaves’ Freight Intel Group has released a new study of the impact of IMO 2020 on the U.S. trucking industries (and other industries). Read what may happen to diesel fuel prices.
The service problems associated with precision scheduled railroading (PSR) have motivated forest products and scrap recycling shippers to press the Surface Transportation Board to renew a longstanding request for regulatory oversight.
Rail volumes were off again for the week ending June 29, 2019 with U.S. railroads reporting a 5.5 percent decline.
Rail union workers are at odds with other members of the freight rail industry over how cross-border rail operations are run at Laredo, Texas.
Gemini Shippers Group, a non-profit shippers association that is nearly 100 years old, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). Read about Gemini and why it has joined BiTA.
Blocking railroad crossings in Oklahoma now could come at a financial cost for freight railroads.
In the longer-term, rail industry observers are waiting to see how and whether Genesee & Wyoming will be able to make the capital investments needed to maintain its infrastructure.
Canadian National announced record western Canadian grain shipments and a C$210 million investment to support exports.
Brian Aoaeh has written a thought-provoking commentary on the impact of climate change on supply chains, and what governments, companies and startups can do to mitigate supply chain disruptions.
Barge grain movements on Mississippi 85 percent lower than a year ago
FreightWaves, the leading source of news, data and insights for the freight markets, has acquired American Shipper, a leading news publication serving the global shipper community.
Jim Blaze writes about the movement of grain by rail. This is a huge business for U.S. and Canadian railroads, and is also critical to the export market of the two countries.
