intermodal

Diminished railcar demand and COVID-19 headwinds force railcar maker to halt production and trim staff.

The J.B. Hunt first-quarter conference call provided a mixed bag of anecdotes. While concerns mount over economic disruption, the company has some offsets.

J.B. Hunt’s first quarter results, while slightly below consensus, were likely not as bad as feared. The company’s outlook provided on its earnings call will be the takeaway.

A report from Boston Consulting Group suggests that the Class I railroads must look beyond precision scheduled railroading and operating ratios if the industry wants to be a competitive transportation mode.

Members of the Washington, D.C.-based National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America interviewed by American Shipper this week generally praised CBP for permitting the flow of legitimate trade across the continent.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission said there has been no shortage of container-shipping industry members willing to participate in its initiative to identify ways to overcome supply chain obstacles caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

In an interview with FreightWaves, TRAC Intermodal President and CEO Jennifer Polli describes how her company is handling its business operations against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.

Hub Group joins other transportation companies in accessing revolving credit to improve liquidity.

CDL 1000 aims to revolutionize street turns by automating the process, cutting out inefficiencies and improving speed.

The choice depends on the lane, the freight and the rate.

Every FreightWaves article is designed to assist our readers in becoming the most informed professionals in the transportation and logistics industry. These articles may have flown under your radar this week. We consider them essential reading. The mysterious resurrection of Celadon’s Mexican business – Bankrupt Celadon Group reveals employees in Mexico recently restarted operations of its […]

FreightWaves Market Expert Mike Baudendistel writes about the issues impacting rail intermodal in 2020, and the ongoing battle between the railroads and the trucking industry.

Ocean, intermodal and trucking data are flashing red. Don’t worry — DAT just made a bullish call on spot rates.

Declines in Cass data accelerate but report calls for rates to inflect higher in 2020.

Lead Economist, Anthony Smith takes the reigns on this macro edition of Freightonomics. He chats with a diverse panel of guests about ways to optimize performance across business areas in a sluggish freight economy. Listeners will learn how to navigate today while preparing for the future of freight. Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher Watch the video

When responding to requests for proposals in the contract bidding process, rail and intermodal service providers should tout not only their competitive pricing but why shippers should diversify their modal options.

J.B. Hunt announced that CFO David Mee will retire March 1. The company will fill the interim role internally until a permanent replacement is found.

Werner’s management team is still pointing to a truckload recovery in 2020 but noted that the first half will be a challenge.

FreightWaves SONAR has new information for subscribers.

Union Pacific opens lanes, while Norfolk Southern talks lane opportunities to take market share from trucks.

Schneider National’s fourth quarter suffered from a “muted peak season” and softer rates. However, the carrier’s 2020 outlook calls for improving fundamentals.

Robinson aggressively cut prices to hold truckload volumes steady and grow LTL volumes.

Quarantines and factory shutdowns could deepen and extend the traditional Chinese New Year trough.

J.B. Hunt’s fourth quarter call addresses some challenges facing its brokerage and intermodal businesses.

J.B. Hunt reports lower-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter as weaker market conditions and increased investment weigh on results.

Dupré Logistics and HOYER form bulk transport entity to provide supply chain services domestically and internationally.

Rail intermodal is the transportation method of moving freight on the earth’s surface by two modes, by railroad and also by truck. The freight can be carried in either trailers or containers; containers has become the larger and faster-growing category. The freight is moved on a railroad during the long-haul portion of the move with local trucking (known as drayage) taking the trailer or container to its final destination.

Market Expert Michael Baudendistel writes about rail intermodal volume is lower for the long-term, or can it be more competitive with trucking.

Cass freight data shows softness again in November. While shipment declines extend to a full year, the rate of the declines may be moderating.

Anthony and Zach discuss what will trim the fat in the oversupplied trucking market as well as talk about why Intermodal has not materialized as the savior of the rail volumes with Mike Baudendistel.

Vice president of operations explains what keeps PTI at the industry forefront.

President and chief operating officer, Michael Gettle, who assisted in the corporate restructuring is leaving the company.

Jim Blaze writes about the decline in rail freight; is it a recent event, or has it been taking place over a longer period?

Jim Blaze writes about the power and influence of mentors on a person’s career and life.

Jim Blaze writes about the Alameda Corridor in Los Angeles, that takes some of the freight from the harbor to distribution centers. Is it still economically viable?

The latest Cass outlook signals “economic contraction,” but the heads at some of the nation’s largest truckload carriers see a different path.

CHICAGO – The technology transformation that’s underway in freight transportation is badly needed to eliminate billions of dollars in annual waste and improve service for shippers and carriers of all sizes, in the same way that consumers have been empowered by shopping online, Shelley Simpson, chief commercial officer at intermodal transportation provider J.B. Hunt, said […]

Hunt thinks that an additional 7 to 11 million loads per year could shift from the highway to intermodal.

Mark Rourke, CEO of Schneider National, right, told George Abernathy, president of FreightWaves, that a series of regulations hitting the industry will affect expenses or cut capacity, during his time on stage at FreightWaves LIVE Chicago.

For anyone in and around the Corn Belt in 2019, the lasting effects of this spring’s flooding are still front and center in everyone’s mind. The economy has been impacted as two of the area’s largest industries have been hit the hardest – agriculture and transportation.   Farming and freight are indelibly tied in this part […]

Roadrunner continues to restructure its operations by shuttering another unit. The company announced that it was selling its intermodal operations to Universal Logistics.

The rails managed to increase rates while trucking rates continued to compress in October.

With the bulk of its final mile business shuttered and its tractor fleet right-sized, management believes that the company is on solid footing to see improvement in 2020.

While Hub Group reported a
good quarter, its near-term outlook is pretty rough. In short, Hub Group doesn’t see a peak season coming in 2019.

New features have been added to FreightWaves SONAR. Learn about them here!

J.B. Hunt Transport Services reports earnings light of expectations, but cost headwinds from digital platform transformation appear to be the primary culprits.

Knight-Swift Transportation lowered its third and fourth quarter 2019 guidance amid intermodal and truckload woes. However, some analysts find this as a reason to celebrate.

Market Voice Darren Prokop writes about automation at ports and the progress – and disruption – that will bring.

Freight shipments and expenditures declined on a year-over-year basis again in September according to the latest Cass Freight Index Report. The firm now believes that the index is “signaling an economic contraction.”

Carloads on the railroads remained under water in the first week of the fourth quarter 2019. Intermodal weakness will be in the spotlight as third quarter earnings season approaches.

Trucks are competitively priced on East Coast lanes and offer better service than the railroads.

Unionized Canadian drivers for CNTL approve four-year agreement that increases rates for wait times and mileage.

The company is following through on a pledge to acquire 1,000 branded intermodal containers by the end of 2020.

Trucking volumes are up YoY, while rail intermodal volumes have fallen. Now may be the time for long time competitors to explore new partnerships.

The outlook for intermodal freight transportation and what’s going on with driver cash flow and factoring issues will be two of the key topics of discussion on the September 28-29 edition of FreightWaves Radio. Rick LaGore, the CEO of Intek Freight and Logistics, will join us to talk about where his company sits in the […]

Universal Logistics reported that it has agreed to a $36 million settlement for an accident that involved a “marginal driver.”

The Canadian class I railroads outlined a number of growth opportunities at an investor conference. Intermodal capacity expansion at the ports and grain delays provided the big takeaways.

If not enough 0.5% low sulfur fuel is available after Jan. 1. 2020 ships may resort to using more expensive 0.1% sulfur fuel used today in emission control areas.

Two of the nation’s largest truckload carriers said they are seeing green shoots in freight demand.

FourKites was founded with the idea of developing a cloud-based SaaS platform that allows for seamless communication and real-time collaboration in the supply chain. As it passes five years in business, founder Matt Elenjickal details why he thinks it has been successful.

This week’s addition of intermodal volume data to our SONAR platform brings us one step closer to having price, volume, and capacity for all modes of transport including air cargo, trucking, inland waterways (barge), ocean and rail.

While management teams at some of the nation’s largest TL carriers have been talking up the potential for a solid peak shipping season, Universal Logistics has seen peak season sentiment move the opposite direction.

The outlook from JBHT was notably better than the concern around the lack of an uptick in seasonal demand that many carriers expressed at multiple investor conferences in May and June.

J.B. Hunt imposes peak season intermodal surcharge to recoup costs of returning empties

Market Voice Jim Blaze writes about rail intermodal and what is happening to this area of the railroad sector.

Using data from FreightWaves SONAR, economist Ibrahiim Bayaan writes about the state of the U.S. retail market and what is ahead for this key sector.

Freight tonnage will grow 25.6 percent by the end of the next decade, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) predicts in its annual ATA Freight Transportation Forecast: 2019 to 2030.

CSX and Canadian National’s partnership to create new intermodal service between Montreal and Toronto and the greater New York City area is a strategy to expand each other’s geographical reach and compete with the long-haul trucking market.

Jim Blaze writes about the recent history of intermodal rail service and what may happen in the next few years.

Schneider National sees “less favorable” trends continuing into the back half of 2019. The company lowered guidance and announced the closure of its First to Final Mile business.

Hub Group believes “soft” intermodal volumes will begin to flatten out and that the 2019 peak shipping season will be similar to that of 2017.

Hub Group sees record earnings despite a “softening demand environment” and “increased truckload and intermodal competition.”

Knight-Swift reported results within its recently lowered guidance range and doubled down on its estimation that the TL capacity correction is underway.

J.B. Hunt posted net earnings of $133.6 million in the second quarter, down 10 percent from a year ago.

Ben Thrower recently visited the Panama Canal. He writes about the canal’s expansion and what that means to global trade and the maritime industry.

Cowan Systems has acquired family-owned regional carrier Carlisle Carrier as it looks to strengthen its Northeast presence.

Union Pacific’s (NYSE: UNP) intermodal rail service saw average speeds sink to a two-year low in the second quarter, with shippers and intermodal marketing companies reporting extensive delays in getting their freight from the railroad. The service hit came during an overall lull for West Coast container imports. And many of the delays were due […]

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.

Intermodal giant sees rail and truck as better than option than truckload into

The report showed further deceleration in the freight markets in May and warns an economic contraction could be underway.

New incentives for container shipping could bring more boxes through the canal to the U.S. East Coast.

Today on FreightWaves NOW, we hit reefer volumes and seasonality action out West, intermodal and rail year-over-year updates, and a jobs report.

“June is a big month in the second quarter historically…and if we don’t see it here in the month of June you really have to question what we are going to see in July and August,” said Rourke.

DrayNow, the first real-time marketplace connecting intermodal freight with carriers, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). BiTA is developing best practices and standards for blockchain in the transportation industry. Blockchain is an open, distributed digital ledger that can record and share transactions between two or more parties efficiently, securely and permanently. Blockchain enables […]

The share repurchase in its entirety represents a little more than 7.5 percent of the company’s outstanding common shares.

A report indicates that the EU is slow to adopt alternate truck fuels. Indian logistics startups are flourishing. Chinese logistics firms that help Chinese businesses relocate are winners in the US-China trade war.

This article brought to you courtesy of NEXT Trucking Intermodal and drayage carriers are seeing a drop in demand about midway through the second quarter. The U.S.-China trade war gets most of the blame, but it might be more complicated than that. After 2018’s rush to get containerized goods off of U.S. ports and into […]

Rail congestion in regions such as Chicago and Houston may have eased for now, but the railroads will still need to find ways to increase capacity at those busy city locations as the U.S. population grows, Class I railroad executives said at an investor conference this week.

Executives with eastern railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern expressed confidence this week that they can compete alongside trucks for e-commerce business.

Forward Air names Chris Ruble COO, Matthew Jewell chief commercial officer

A Canadian National (NYSE: CNI) subsidiary has acquired the intermodal assets of Alberta-based H&R Transport, a company that specializes in the over-the-road, temperature-controlled service. The acquisition will expand CN’s presence in moving consumer goods, and is part of the company’s broader effort to offer more end-to-end rail supply chain options, according to railroad president and […]

Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) announced which intermodal terminals it would close around Chicago, Illinois, weeks after hinting on its first quarter earnings call that it planned to consolidate operations there. The railroad said on May 2 that the changes are a result of its efforts to “simplify” its supply chain along its intermodal network and […]

J.B. Hunt Transport has consolidated its sales, operations and customer support functions for its Mexican subsidiary in a new office in Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro, Mexico.

Schneider National, Inc. held  a call with analysts and media to discuss earnings results. Most of the call focused on explaining what occurred in the first quarter and how the company will achieve its lowered guidance.

Schneider National, Inc. announced first quarter 2019 earnings of $.21 per share, $0.06 per share lower than last year and $0.10 worse than the consensus estimate.

Canadian National Railway Company reported adjusted earnings per share of C$1.17 per share for the first quarter 2019, 17 percent better than the same period a year ago.

Canadian trucking company Bison Transport acquired all of the intermodal assets of Indianapolis, Indiana-based Celadon Group Inc. on April 26.

J.B. Hunt blames its earnings and revenue shortfall on weak intermodal freight volumes, harsh winter weather and concerns about possible tariffs on Chinese imports in its first quarter earnings report on April 15.