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.
J.B. Hunt’s earnings and revenues fell short of analysts’ expectations in the first quarter of 2019, causing its stock to drop 4 percent at the end of trading on Monday, April 15.
New trends in supply chain design have been tailwinds for the growth of the intermodal market, including the increasing length and complexity of global supply chains across modes and changing customer preferences tilted toward shipment velocity. Recognizing the opportunities afforded by a growing market, a host of small intermodal marketing companies (IMCs) have entered the space. But newcomer IMCs need better visibility into intermodal market conditions and shipment locations to be able to compete with high- volume incumbents. In this white paper, Blume Global and FreightWaves explore the current market forces driving the need for intermodal visibility.
The seller was Swedish private equity group EQT Partners, which may be trying to clean up its balance sheet ahead of an IPO.
Protecting market share is part of the battle over longer trucks.
$2 billion in capex over the next ten years will nearly double Savannah’s container traffic to 8 million TEUs annually.
Intermodal is about half the business. It saw its volumes decline but overall grew its revenue.
The operating ratio—strong enough in the third quarter that it can be argued it was earth-shaking—weakened slightly but was still ahead of the fourth quarter of 2017.
Locating intermodal assets and identifying which of those assets is available for use is one of the key attributes of Phillips Connect Technologies’ Intermodal Smart Solution.
In partnership with Blume Global… In our view, increased digitization can make drayage markets more transparent and improve asset utilization, making carrier offerings more attractive on both a cost and service basis.
An Eaton clutch defect leads to a recall of International truck models and other OEMs may have to follow suit, plus Amazon Air takes off and intermodal growth being driven by inland ports.
With the market data available on SONAR, we have ability to see all the ebbs and flows of freight movement happen in real-time.
Cowen expects softening trucking prices in 2019 to be a headwind for truckload carrier earnings, but should widen gross margins for freight brokerages.
Is the economy still healthy? Are people still making things, shipping things, and buying things? According to the railroad car data, the answer is a definitive “Yes.”
Since its founding in 1935, Schneider has only known three leaders: founder Al Schneider, his son Don Schneider, and Chris Lofgren, the first non-family member to lead the company. Come April 2019, you can add the name Mark Rourke to that list.
The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index reached another record high in October while the company’s Intermodal Price Index points to rising intermodal costs.
The dispute sheds light on the extraordinarily secretive process governing the intermodal agreement.
Knight-Swift Transportation reported strong earnings on Wednesday, and it was immediately met with praise from Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker, who wrote in a note that the company’s stock is a “relative buy, at worst, in our view.”
SONAR’s Headhaul Index map and the HAUL.JOT Index are both showing that the return to growth in inbound loaded container flow first seen in the Long Beach/LA port is continuing and gathering momentum.
The city hopes to use its role as a landlord to help move truck traffic on to barges and to trains.
In his preview of the railroads’ Q3 earnings reports, Susquehanna’s Bascome Majors set optimistic price targets but warned that P/E valuations are at historically high levels.
Rail seems to be benefiting from higher diesel prices and capacity constraints with SONAR data suggesting more loads are shifting to intermodal in shorter lengths of haul.
Norfolk Southern has control over a small connector railroad in the Hampton Roads port area, and CSX says it is using that control to block CSX from launching significant intermodal service there.
The deal marks Transplace’s eighth acquisition in seven years, according to Transplace CEO Frank McGuigan.
It’s been quite a few weeks in the discussions regarding precision railroading vs. not-precision, for lack of a better term. Also: OPEC pumping strong, Bangkok a growing intermodal hub
BNSF will use the CSX system to haul intermodal freight from the LA/Long Beach port, and service on the CSX system will be added from the New York/New Jersey port.
An annual review of the logistics business gets published; dueling intermodal views; and a startup gets a big chunk of funding.
A response to an earlier piece discussing railroad attendance at IANA’s recent expo and the benefits of precision railroading.
The numbers look good but deteriorating service is tarnishing the traditional role of intermodal.
Customers in some cases can move back and forth between the rails and the roads, and how brokers deal with that was the subject of an IANA panel discussion.
Jim Filter of Schneider says he’s seeing benefits from CSX paring back its footprint and focusing on a smaller range of lanes.
A lack of crews and a slowdown in system operations is squeezing intermodal capacity and shutting off an alternative for those looking to move away from trucks.
A Norfolk Southern executive suggested that the company’s management will have a lot to talk about on its next quarterly earnings call.
Advent Intermodal Solutions (www.adventintermodal.com), a leader in information technology and cloud-based software solutions for port and terminal operators and landside logistics, has joined the Blockchain in Transportation Alliance (BiTA).
Hub Group was looking at alternatives for Mode Transportation
This informative infographic highlights the value and benefits of intermodal.
Uber Freight is gobbling up $500M per year; the US and China hit each other with a new round of tariffs; Georgia Ports extends its inland intermodal network; Saudi Arabia’s Aramco IPO indefinitely delayed; cannabis supply chains mature; Houston is now an oil exporter.
Intermodal tightness has pumped the hub of hubs, the Chicago freight market especially on lanes paralleling major railroads; meanwhile a minor heatwave in St. Louis may have been behind a massive surge in reefer turndowns.
Universal is bullish on its intermodal division, and the Southern Counties acquisition will allow it to expand its footprint in that area.
Schneider National became the latest carrier to announce that it has benefited financially from the strong pricing and capacity squeeze when it announced its second-quarter operating revenues were up 15% year-over-year.
Hub Group’s earnings per share at $0.66 beat Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $0.50, but executives said that the third and fourth quarters will be even stronger, and margins will grow even against tough comps.
All of the metrics were strongly positive, but the CEO expressed disappointment with two of its main activities, automotive and dedicated
The asset-light expedited LTL carrier posted strong volume and yield growth, and is tacking on intermodal businesses by M&A, but playing catch up with its truckload brokerage.
The improved Operating Ratio posted by Norfolk Southern wasn’t enough to stop analysts from asking about its comparison to that of CSX.
Container line alliances are cutting capacity on their transpacific services in anticipation of a major slowdown in the US-China trade relationship due to tariffs. We see downside risk for Union Pacific and BNSF intermodal volumes, as well as JB Hunt.
CSX hit records on operating ratio while improving train speed and dwell time, but says intermodal still needs a “ton” of work and pricing will reflect CSX’s “superior product.”
A revenue increase boosted earnings for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ: JBHT), as the carrier reported second-quarter net earnings of $151.7 million, or $1.37 per share, versus second-quarter 2017 net earnings of $97.9 million, or 88 cents per share.
Intermodal is clearly benefiting from price comparisons between rails and trucks, but it’s mostly macroeconomics that fueled the Deutsche report.
The economy remains strong, and capacity tight, although buffeted by some headwinds.
Canadian National is making good on its promises to fix some of their deteriorated infrastructure and ramp up in response to being challenged on their ability to handle surging freight volumes. The Fed is expected to raise rates while trucking companies invest in the future.
Data on producer prices shows that overall inflation pressure cooled in the economy last month, as big declines in food prices offset gain in other areas of the economy. Trucking prices remained essentially unchanged for the second consecutive month, but remain elevated relative to this point last year.
TRAC Intermodal has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA), an organization for the development of blockchain standards and education for the transportation industry.
NS had weak operating metrics in the first quarter, but strong performance. Hub sees a strong pricing environment for the rails.
The year 2018 is shaping up as one not seen in trucking in more than a decade, explained Chris Lofgren, CEO of Schneider National, on the company’s earnings call on Thursday morning.
Shippers are anticipating continued volume increases, tighter capacity, and further rate increases according to a Morgan Stanley survey.
The first major transportation provider out of the box with first-quarter earnings has posted a better-than-expected result in revenues with J.B. Hunt Transport Services topped revenue estimates for the quarter.
FTR expects overall intermodal traffic to grow 6% YOY despite capacity constrains in rail and some downside risks like NAFTA renegotiation.
As capacity has tightened for trucks, the effects have been felt across the industry.
Data from the Producers Price Index showed that prices for trucking services remain high, and a spillover in demand may be causing a surge in intermodal rates.
Stifel returns to trucking with an array of notes on individual carriers and a comprehensive industry update. Analysts expect 12% increase in truckload rates y/y, spillover into LTL and intermodal, and no relief in sight for the driver shortage.
Once the Mason Mega Rail terminal is complete, the Port of Savannah will have a state-of-the-art facility, unique to the U.S. East Coast.
Profit Tools has developed an Optimization Platform which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and intermodal data points to deliver breakthrough performance and visibility.
The ATA’s truck tonnage index fell 2.6% in February, and evidence from rail traffic data suggests that shippers are shifting modes for some freight
