“It’s just a confusing time for all of us in transportation and anybody in manufacturing or business in general to have a really good sense of why we’re seeing this kind of softness,” said CSX chief executive officer Jim Foote.
U.S. intermodal volumes fell 5.9 percent in May, while carloads fell 2.1 percent amid economic uneasiness and uncertainties surrounding U.S. trade between Mexico and China.
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.
Canadian National’s (NYSE: CNI) strategy to build up its eastern network could include even more partnerships with trucking and intermodal partners, the company’s chief executive officer said at an investor conference.
e railroad industry is “concerned” about a possible disruption of the North American supply chain should the U.S. impose tariffs on imports from Mexico. But for now, the rail industry is taking a wait-and-see stance.
While the degradation was seen across most sectors, the transports are seeing outsized declines.
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.
“The board has the authority to define reasonable practices. If you were in our shoes, what would you do?” said Surface Transportation Board vice chairman Patrick Fuchs to a panel representing BNSF, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific.
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.
“The economy feels pretty good right now,” GWR chief executive Jack Hellmann said at an investor conference on May 14.
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.
A Trinity Industries subsidiary has bought 230 acres in Iowa to construct a multi-million-dollar railcar maintenance facility. The facility’s location in Butler County will give Trinity access to the Class I railroad network and the upper Midwest, Trinity said.
Nevada joins Colorado in requiring freight trains to have at least two crew members on board. Meanwhile, preliminary data from the Surface Transportation Board shows April rail headcount level to be the lowest so far in 2019 and since January 2017.
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.
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.
Rail market expert Jim Blaze discusses how FreightWaves SONAR can help determine how best to ship freight.
FreightWaves market expert Jim Blaze looks at a regulatory spat between Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway over the concept of “open access.” Learn why that is important to all railroads – and shippers!
While the degradation was seen across most sectors, the transport sectors saw large declines.
