The coronavirus is impacting all sectors of the economy, and railroads are no different. Read what expert Jim Blaze thinks will happen going forward.
The pandemic may put pressure on U.S. rail volumes, particularly for commodities that support consumer goods, says an Association of American Railroads executive.
Should the railroads pare the number of types of railcars? Jim Blaze explores this topic.
Intermodal volumes slump as the coronavirus cuts North American import and export volume.
Are there too many railroad freight cars? Jim Blaze writes about many reasons why this is the case.
The drop in weekly intermodal volumes in North America could be a reflection of the impact of coronavirus on the supply chain.
Jim Blaze writes about the outlook for intermodal rail in 2020.
Excluding coal carloads, U.S. carloads in February fell only 0.8% from last year, according to the Association of American Railroads.
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.
U.S. rail traffic maintains its slump for another week
In the past 30 years railroad freight cars have been able to carry heavier loads, thanks to decisions made in the late 1980s. Read Jim Blaze’s article about what happened and how it has been very important to the railroads.
Uncertainty is still an underlying theme facing North American freight railroads.
Year-to-date U.S. rail traffic is over 6% lower than the same period in 2019.
Railroads once carried much of the fresh produce across the U.S. Can they do it again? Jim Blaze explores the topic in his latest commentary.
Jim Blaze writes about the transportation of hazardous materials by rail. Accidents have occurred, and the railroads need to continue to work to decrease their number. However, rail is the safest way to transport hazardous materials.
Year-to-date U.S. rail volumes are still sluggish, and the effect of the coronavirus on intermodal volumes remains unclear.
Jim Blaze explores whether the Class 1 railroads are downsizing their railcar fleets.
Trade uncertainties, softness in the manufacturing sector contributed to lower rail volumes in January.
Jim Blaze writes about the long, slow decline of coal as the key commodity for railroads, and whether plastics might replace the lost volume.
FreightWaves SONAR has new information for subscribers.
The drop comes as the Class I railroads look to the second half of 2020 for volume growth.
Railroad giant Norfolk Southern Corp.’s fourth-quarter profit declined 5% as the company hauled 9% less freight, officials said. Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) reported its operating and financial results for the fourth quarter of 2019 before the market opened Wednesday. Norfolk Southern (NS) reported total revenues of $2.7 billion in the fourth quarter, down 7% year-over-year, […]
Year-to-date U.S. rail traffic is 7.8% lower compared with the same period in 2019.
Railroad expert Jim Blaze writes about coal, a key commodity hauled by rail. The amount of coal being hauled by rail is declining. Why? And what does the future hold?
Jim Blaze explores the decline of railroad freight volume and what may happen going forward.
U.S. carloads and intermodal units are down year to date from the same period in 2019.
Improving rail volumes and service are among the crucial issues to look out for as the railroads reveal their 2020 guidance in the coming days.
Jim Blaze profiles TTX, a company that is essential to the railroad industry.
Association of American Railroads reports volumes continue to run lower than a year ago.
Jim Blaze writes about the key messages he extrapolated about railroading in 2019.
U.S. rail volumes fell 5% in 2019 amid trade worries, a sluggish industrial economy and a significant drop in coal carloads.
Lower rail volumes, an active Surface Transportation Board and a strike were among the key events that the U.S. and Canadian freight rail industry experienced this year.
The volume drop has created ripple effects, including some lower railcar leasing rates.
Jim Blaze writes about the potential of short-haul intermodal traffic on the North American Class 1 railroads.
Jim Blaze writes about the financial issues inherent in an Alaska-to-Alberta rail route.
The continued dip in rail volumes comes as North American freight rail groups press for trade pact.
Market Expert Michael Baudendistel writes about rail intermodal volume is lower for the long-term, or can it be more competitive with trucking.
Railroad market voice Jim Blaze writes about technological advances that are making railroads’ capital expenditures on infrastructure more efficient.
The European Green Deal is looking to shift 75% of EU freight traffic from road to rail and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2050.
Economic uncertainty weighs on rail volumes.
Jim Blaze writes about the decline in rail freight; is it a recent event, or has it been taking place over a longer period?
U.S. rail volumes are down, but don’t call it a freight recession, according to Association of American Railroads executive.
U.S. rail volumes continue to slip as rail executives see muted peak season.
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?
U.S. rail volumes have been trending lower all year.
Jim Blaze writes about the North American railroads KPIs, and what the railroads need to do to increase railcar use, revenue and shipper loyalty.
Market expert Michael Baudendistel writes about whether there is a rail recession, or are railroads paring operations and employees to fatten their bottom lines.
U.S. rail volumes fell 8.1% amid trade uncertainty and “sluggish” growth abroad.
Connecting the Alaska Railroad with rail service in Canada and the U.S. is a bold, expensive plan. But it would generate tremendous benefits. Read more here.
The credit ratings firm sees coal and intermodal volumes under continued pressure next year.
Ben Thrower writes about the positive and negative aspects of precision scheduled railroading in this commentary article.
Year-to-date U.S. rail traffic continues to trend lower.
Jim Blaze writes about Conrail Shared Assets and its accomplishments on behalf of CSX and Norfolk Southern.
Rail volumes fell yet again and the industry is casting its doubts about the fourth quarter.
Jim Blaze explains the new CSX trip compliance reporting… perhaps the first step for railroads to compete more effectively with the trucking industry.
With U.S. rail volumes still slumping, the Class I railroads wondered in third-quarter earnings calls when the downward trend would end.
Market View commentator Jim Blaze writes about the advantages short line railroads offer to shippers.
Jim Blaze writes about the competitiveness of railroads vs. trucks and the railroads’ lack of interoperability.
For decades, the European freight rail system has had no major upgrades with regard to axle load capacity, train length or car vertical height.
Year-to-date U.S. rail traffic down 3.8 percent from the same period in 2018.
Trade uncertainty and loose truck capacity continue to weigh on rail traffic.
U.S. rail volumes are down nearly 4% year-to-date amid a 6.6% decline for coal and a 4% drop for intermodal.
Weakness in the manufacturing sector is dragging U.S. rail volumes lower, AAR says.
Market Voice Jim Blaze contents that railroads are using the wrong KPIs to increase volume and capture market share from trucks.
Year-to-date U.S. rail volumes are still slumping this year, due in part to a competitive truck market for intermodal shipments.
Several intermodal containers on trains running between China to Europe run empty due to lack of exporter demand for capacity.
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.
The continued slump in U.S. rail volumes is putting pressure on overall North American rail volumes.
Year-to-date North American rail volumes fell 2.3 percent last week. But what about for the rest of the year?
As railroads cut less profitable routes, shippers should learn as much as possible about railroads plans for future service.
U.S. rail carloads no longer appear to be following the lead of broader economic indicators. Why? Look to concerns about rail service reliability and trade uncertainty as answers.
Chinese tariffs are impacting American agriculture. But declines in exports to other countries are also hurting American agriculture.
U.S. railroad operations loaded 5.5 percent fewer carloads and intermodal units in July, and trade uncertainty could threaten to maintain that downward trend in rail volumes for the remainder of 2019.
Jim Blaze writes about the recent history of intermodal rail service and what may happen in the next few years.
The U.S.-China trade war has dropped trade volumes between the two countries to date in 2019. One result – Mexico is now the #1 trade partner of the U.S.
North American rail volumes are still lower year-over-year, but U.S. carloads recovered somewhat last week.
The Class I railroads have reported their second quarter/first-half of 2019 results. Jim Blaze writes about what may happen during the remainder of 2019.
The continued decline of U.S. rail volumes was one of the themes mentioned in the second quarter earnings calls for CSX and Canadian Pacific.
Jim Blaze writes about earnings season for the railroads, and what investors, customers and employees should be looking and asking for in the railroads’ quarterly earnings reports.
Year-to-date U.S. rail volumes fell yet again this week, although improving economic indicators signal that rail volumes could moderate in the weeks and months ahead.
Jim Blaze writes about railroad movement of scrap – the market today and the future of the market.
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.
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.
Year-to-date U.S. rail volumes fell again amid a loosening truck market, receding floodwaters in the Midwest and overall economic uncertainty.
An additional $300 billion in proposed U.S. tariffs against China could result in lower railroad freight volume , but economic uncertainty and competition from trucks appear so far to be bigger threats for rail volumes.
Market expert Jim Blaze writes about the railroads’ transportation of fracking sand, as well as stone and gravel, aggregates and phosphates.
Should the Class I railroads see U.S. rail volumes sustainably increase, furloughed workers could be called back to meet network capacity needs, resulting in a bump up of headcount levels. But another factor that could affect headcount levels in the long-term is the deployment of automation technologies.
U.S. rail volumes trended downward again for the week ending June 15, with weekly volumes falling over 5 percent and year-to-date volumes declining nearly 3 percent, according to the latest data from the Association of American Railroads.
Market expert Jim Blaze writes about the movement of coal by rail. He explores the history of rail-coal; more importantly, he writes about what the future may hold for coal in the U.S. and how that will impact the railroads.
Flooding impacts, cheap natural gas prices, and trade and economic uncertainty could be factors contributing to a significant slump in weekly U.S. rail volume.
Market expert Jim Blaze explores what railroads need to do to capture more of the market share of oversize loads, which are essential to the economy and profitable as well.
U.S. rail volumes tumbled 6.7 percent for the week ending May 25 as slumping intermodal volumes dragged total volumes lower. Softness in the housing and manufacturing sectors could be contributing to lower U.S. rail volumes year-to-date.
U.S. rail volumes fell again for the week ended May 18, while Canadian volumes grew, according to the latest data from the Association of American Railroads. The theme of higher U.S. carloads but lower intermodal volumes was also expressed by CSX this week.
FreightWaves SONAR now features railroad-related data from Commtrex. The article provides insight about the Commtrex, the data it will provide to SONAR and how SONAR users will benefit from it.
Market expert Jim Blaze explains the economics behind railcars. He also provides information about the various types of railcars and what market conditions the railroads are facing as they seek to “right-size” their fleets.
Canadian rail volumes rose again year-to-date for the week ended May 11, while U.S. rail volumes continued downward amid U.S. tariff uncertainty and a fuzzy economic picture.
April rail volumes fell year-over-year but rose slightly from March 2019, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said on May 1. But the AAR predicted that improving economic conditions could lead to rail volumes stabilizing or growing in the second half of the year, although some uncertainties still persist.
Market expert Jim Blaze looks at how rail freight volume has changed over the years and what the outlook is for the next decade. Learn what he thinks will happen to the railroad industry in its long-term competition with trucking to carry freight.
Australian Stock Exchange listed bulk rail freight operator Aurizon reported decreases in top-line revenue, earnings before interest, tax and depreciation, and a big decline in net profit after tax on February 11, 2019.
