rail

A look at the new high-speed rail.

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.” 

The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index reached another record high in October while the company’s Intermodal Price Index points to rising intermodal costs.

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.

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.

Four new inbound truck lanes recently opened at Virginia International Gateway, increasing the capacity at the terminal’s gate complex by 30 percent.

Freight Alley expands with the addition of Grupo Sesé, Carrefour turns to blockchain, Airbus will name its new CEO, and more in Today’s Pickup.

The numbers look good but deteriorating service is tarnishing the traditional role of intermodal.

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.

The agreement will cover around 25% of the global economy, and, according to Bloomberg, by some measures the largest free trade area in the world.

The economy remains strong, and capacity tight, although buffeted by some headwinds.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) today announced it has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance.

Shippers are anticipating continued volume increases, tighter capacity, and further rate increases according to a Morgan Stanley survey.

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.

The trade deficit in goods widened for the sixth consecutive month in February. Total goods trade volume was up however, which bodes well for transportation and freight markets

Amtrak train 91, which was traveling from Penn Station in New York to Miami, should have been on the main line, but it was directed to tracks just east of it, where a CSX train was parked.

Trains are easier to run with autonomous vehicle technology, so they should come before self-driving cars, right?

Conditions are still not satisfactory for rail shippers, even after the Agricultural Transportation Working Group sounded the alarm on what they call problematic and deteriorating rail service provided by the one of the nation’s four major rail carriers.