intermodal rail

Year-over-year rail volume growth is fading.

Intermodal rail might still face pressure from a loose truck market in 2024, but intermodal rail providers could see volumes grow longer term if they keep service humming, according to Breakthrough’s chief economist.

Intermodal rail can and should be a competitive transportation mode, provided that short-line railroads play a part and more investments go into developing intermodal hubs and insightful data sets, according to a report commissioned by the Environmental Defense Fund.

Union Pacific is seeking to beef up its intermodal offerings via a terminal in Phoenix and the addition of destinations for its on-dock rail service at Port Houston.

BNSF, J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Mexico’s GMXT are launching an intermodal service in January between Mexico and the Midwest.

The Port of Montreal has received funding from Canada’s National Trade Corridors Fund to build a new terminal aimed at boosting the port’s container handling capacity.

Union Pacific will be offering intermodal service between two cities in Mexico and the U.S. Southeast.

U.S. intermodal volumes actually grew in September, according to the Association of American Railroads. And with the harvest season in full swing in the fourth quarter, expect rising grain volumes.

Two Florida East Coast Railway terminals will gain access to Norfolk Southern’s network, and NS and FEC will use a steel wheel interchange in Jacksonville, Florida, which will bolster access to Midwest markets.

Although the U.S. supply chain may no longer be imperiled by the pandemic-era chassis shortage, companies should still act in response to expectations that e-commerce and global trade will only continue to grow, according to the president and CEO of Trac Intermodal.

Expanded service offerings, such as a reduction in transit time for the Falcon Premium intermodal service, should help support Union Pacific in the third and fourth quarters, UP leaders said at an investor conference this week.

Parallel Systems unveiled Tuesday another second-generation, battery-powered autonomous rail vehicle, which is slated for use in pilot projects both in the U.S. and abroad. Through this iteration of the autonomous rail vehicle, Los Angeles-based Parallel Systems will be looking at how its autonomous rail vehicle performs with the broader rail network. It said it is […]

Canadian railway CN and Norfolk Southern are partnering to create a domestic intermodal service that will connect Canadian customers with markets in the U.S. Southeast.

The new service will provide a direct connection from the Port of Savannah to CSX’s intermodal terminal in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Norfolk Southern and DrayNow will further develop technology for intermodal that provides real-time information on first- and last-mile movements.

STG Logistics will extend its reach in Canada by offering “port-to-door” services in six new markets in addition to the Toronto and Montreal markets that it already serves.

Two Genesee & Wyoming subsidiaries are seeking a permit from the Federal Railroad Administration to conduct a pilot project that would involve deploying Parallel Systems’ autonomous rail vehicle technology on limited portions of their networks in Georgia.

Hub Group reported $1 billion in revenue and earnings per share $1.44 during the second quarter.

Union Pacific’s expanded service allows ocean carriers and BCOs to utilize on-dock rail at the Barbours Cut Container Terminal at Port Houston.

Shippers want Congress to expand FMC’s power over rail storage fees, but shipping lines say the power is already in the hands of the STB.

Not to be outdone by CPKC, CN said it is partnering with Union Pacific and Grupo México to provide a new, cross-continent intermodal service that will seek more truck-to-rail conversions.

Schneider said Friday it will be a strategic intermodal carrier for the Canadian Pacific Kansas City rail line from Mexico to Chicago.

FTR Transportation Intelligence expects a competitive truck market and port activity shift to put pressure on rail intermodal in 2023.

CN boasts record Canadian grain volumes, Watco completes a Texas terminal expansion, and the Association of American Railroads and the Intermodal Association of North America detail volume ups and downs.

Hub Group reported year-over-year increases in its intermodal, logistics and truck brokerage segments during the third quarter.

OceaNS Bridge Express, a partnership among NS, Union Pacific, Hapag-Lloyd and the Port of Virginia, could be a means to avoid West Coast port congestion while taking advantage of East Coast port capacity improvements.

FreightWaves Founder and CEO Craig Fuller explains the boom and bust cycle of the trucking industry.

Slower transit times may be what shippers need as inventory levels and costs surge to all-time highs.

XPO Logistics announced it has sold its intermodal business to STG Logistics for $710 million in cash. This was a crucial first step on the path to becoming a stand-alone less-than-truckload company.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for federal, state and local governments to develop inland ports to improve network flows, say stakeholders.

Record earnings per share of $2.48 beat analysts’ estimates.

The investments rely on expectations that customers will want easy or green access to railroads’ intermodal offerings.

The RFP process should be easier, vaccination mandates cause border woes, and the power of rail.

UP’s capital expenditures plan for 2022 includes investments to intermodal terminals and intermodal ramps, executives said during the company’s fourth-quarter 2021 earnings call Thursday.

Despite being stymied by labor shortages and lack of equipment such as chassis in the second half of 2021, U.S. intermodal volumes were actually pretty high considering the yearly total.

Infrastructure and capacity expansion projects, regulatory uncertainties and progress toward supply chain visibility and sustainability are the themes that rail and intermodal stakeholders have set their sights on in 2022.

From M&A to supply chain disruptions, the freight rail industry navigated an often unpredictable 2021.

The pilot program in Chicago and Kansas City aims to encourage trucks to come — and go — with a shipping container.

The state-of-the-art terminal has rail-to-truck transfer capacity domestic and international containers and deploys automated container handling.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Georgia port officials are pulling every lever possible to reduce shipping delays that are having a national impact.

President Biden was Professor Biden at the Port of Baltimore, explaining Supply Chain 101 to the American people.

The Port of Long Beach is trying to innovate its way out of container gridlock. The latest move is regular shuttle trains to Utah to reduce less efficient truck moves.

Like its Class I peers, Norfolk Southern encountered supply chain disruptions brought on by a lack of workers in dray and warehousing.

To make room for more containers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, UP and BNSF are offering incentives to ocean carrier customers to move out the containers already there. UP is also temporarily pausing westbound marine container movement to its Long Beach facility.

Union Pacific could’ve handled more intermodal volume in the third quarter were it not for longer chassis dwell times and a shortage of dray drivers, executives said during the company’s earnings call.

CSX has been aggressively pursuing new employees in order to meet network capacity needs, executives said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

Intermodal rail volumes were lower again year-over-year in September as the ability to process containers and imports is stymied by ongoing supply chain capacity constraints.

The NS terminal will serve “strong growth in the Louisville intermodal market.”

INRD’s expansion will benefit Indianapolis-area intermodal customers seeking access to the Asian market.

Labor and chassis shortages, as well as congestion in the wider supply chain, have contributed to lower U.S. intermodal traffic compared with a year ago.

FreightWaves market expert Mike Baudendistel chats with Norfolk Southern’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Alan Shaw about intermodal challenges and opportunities confronting NS and other Class I railroads.

Elise Gosch, assistant VP of intermodal sales at Union Pacific, shares strategies the company has implemented throughout the pandemic to address shifting customer needs.

Register now for Freightwaves Intermodal Summit

News about BNSF, Kansas City Southern, Trinity Industries and TTCI.

July’s volumes are a monthly record and the second highest for 2021.

Container volumes rose 25% at the Port of Savannah, while auto and machinery units grew 39% at Brunswick.

The Association of American Railroads responds to regulator’s inquiry about supply chain congestion, while GoRail advocates for regulation supporting freight rail industry growth.

NS plans to reopen a Pennsylvania intermodal facility in response to e-commerce rise, market demand and supply chain congestion.

The pace of U.S. rail volume growth slowed in July, according to Association of American Railroad data. But still expect intermodal growth through 2021 in North America, the Intermodal Association of North America said.

STB Chairman Marty Oberman has sent letters to all the Class I railroads asking them how the railroads are applying storage fees at key container terminals while the supply chain is congested.

Supply chain disruptions for international intermodal are likely to last through the end of the year, Union Pacific President and CEO Lance Fritz said during the second-quarter earnings call on Thursday.

The ocean carrier said Monday that BNSF is reducing import traffic at the ports of LA and Long Beach, while inbound trains from New York area ocean terminals to three Midwestern destinations are also being monitored.

Intermodal volumes are down while tender rejections are up. The rails may be missing a huge growth opportunity, but is there anything they can do about it?

The seven-day suspension of service, starting on Sunday, is aimed at helping ocean carriers, UP and other stakeholders to catch up and relieve the congestion at West Coast ports and busy inland terminals, especially Chicago.

NS is working to repair a defect that could affect over 5,000 chassis. The repairs come amid high congestion at terminals and intermodal facilities across the U.S.

Ocean carriers and Class I railroads both agree that chassis shortages are contributing to volume congestion. But solutions to relieve the congestion rely on multiple supply chain stakeholders, say the railroads.

Reducing dwell times for equipment and at the terminals is one way the Class I railroads are seeking to relieve systemwide supply chain congestion, according to executives at recent investor conferences.

U.S. rail volumes climbed nearly 30% in May from last year’s pandemic-induced troughs. Intermodal traffic has boosted rail volumes this year and could continue to do so in spite of capacity constraints at U.S. ports.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

On this episode of Freightonomics, Anthony Smith and Zach Strickland dive into the state of the intermodal freight world.

U.S. intermodal traffic on a weekly basis continues to show strength, rising last week by 22%, according to the Association of American Railroads. The increase comes amid higher U.S. retail sales in February year-over-year, despite a sequential decline.

Witnesses at a U.S. House hearing on Wednesday stressed the need for a multimodal approach in federal support of the railroads, citing freight rail’s connection with both rural, inland towns and coastal ports.

International intermodal volumes for the U.S. have risen 44% year-over-year, according to FreightWaves SONAR, amid higher import activity.

Wells Fargo transportation research analyst Allison Poliniak-Cusic raises expectations for intermodal providers in a new report. Favorable catalysts for the mode are expected to carry into 2022.

U.S. weekly intermodal volumes moved higher last week amid support from retail and e-commerce, while carloads slumped as some U.S. Gulf Coast facilities seek to fully return to normal following February’s winter storm.

The extreme cold and heavy snow dampened U.S. rail volumes last week.

U.S. rail volumes rose 5.3% in January as gains for intermodal, chemicals and grain were enough to offset losses for coal and petroleum products, according to AAR data.

Higher consumer spending, inventory restocking and rising import levels contributed to a 9.6% gain in North American intermodal volumes in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the Intermodal Association of North America.

Anticipated consumer spending levels, retail restocking and tight truck capacity are among the factors that could support intermodal volumes this year, according to Class I rail execs.

Two FreightWaves SONAR charts illustrate Union Pacific’s views of the West Coast intermodal spot market.

U.S. weekly carloads last week were only 1.4% lower than year-ago levels, while intermodal traffic is still experiencing double-digit percentage increases.

On Dec. 1, KCS announced that the blockades had officially come to an end. The Mexican economy has taken a hit due to the pandemic and the protests only added to the hurt.

A few images convey a great deal about the intermodal rail model.

KCS says Mexico protests are impacting fourth-quarter revenue, and Norfolk Southern announces leadership changes.

The railroad has opened a new intermodal terminal in Minneapolis, and service to and from Los Angeles will begin in January.

U.S. carload traffic on a weekly basis was 3.1% lower last week on a year-over-year basis and 1.7% higher sequentially.

Weekly intermodal traffic is still higher year-over-year although on a sequential basis, volumes appear to be leveling off for trailers.

With intermodal volumes growing in the third quarter and October, how will the railroads handle intermodal traffic in the fourth quarter?

The bond credit ratings firm updates its outlook for the freight rail industry from negative to stable amid rising rail volumes.

U.S. rail volumes on a weekly basis were 2% higher last week amid a 9% increase in intermodal traffic.

Intermodal containers arrived this week at North Dakota’s first and only intermodal facility in Minot.

U.S. intermodal volumes grew in September amid a continued increase in U.S. imports.

U.S. intermodal traffic continues its upward trend but carloads are still lower year-over-year.

It is too early to call the intermodal recovery a long-term win for the railroads.

U.S. rail volumes were down by only 1.3% compared with the same period in 2019. Intermodal traffic provided the boost.

U.S. rail volumes, including intermodal traffic, fell in a week that was shortened by Labor Day.