Texas is the epicenter of supply-chain damage caused by Winter Storm Uri, but the disruption is being felt nationwide. Mexican imports by truck may be delayed for days.
Monday March 1, 2021
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Intermodal Shipping
Intermodal Shipping
News, data and analysis of the various factors that are driving the continued expansion of intermodal shipping activity around the globe.
Steady growth in the number of road freight carriers is leading to greater traffic congestion and costly delays in the delivery of goods to end-users in business and consumer markets. Governments and regulatory bodies are introducing costly, stringent regulations to reduce vehicle emissions. Intermodal infrastructures are improving, along with other advances in technology for managing complex supply chains that operate across various modes of transportation.
All of those factors are compelling many companies to use an intermodal combination of sea, road and railways to transport their goods on longer routes, rather than depend on a single mode of transportation. The cost-reduction benefits are significant for shippers, buyers, freight forwarders and other stakeholders in the supply chain.
Webcasts
Mar 25, 2021 11:00AM EDT
News & Analysis
16 Feb 2021
Union Pacific Railroad is shutting down virtually all business across its intermodal network for 72 hours because of snow and ice in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, and even as far south as Texas.
03 Feb 2021
Shippers may see intermodal savings evaporate in the first quarter if rail contracts rise more than 10 percent and spot truck rates continue to cool off and pressure truck contracts.
15 Jan 2021
Rising industrial freight volumes will keep pressure on truckload capacity and pricing in 2021, even if demand for goods peaks, according to FTR Transport Intelligence analysts.
12 Jan 2021
Intermodal marketing company (IMC) executives say US intermodal rates charged to shippers will rise between 3 and 10 percent in major lanes and between 3 and 5 percent in secondary lanes this year.
30 Dec 2020
Truckers are taking longer to get through terminals in Chicago because of the surge in cargo and changes in stacking containers with some railroads.
15 Dec 2020
COVID-19 and the wave of imports reaching the US will keep pressure on transportation capacity and pricing, from ports to the last mile, shippers warned Tuesday.
11 Dec 2020
Pandemic-related LTL service issues that include long delays and missed deliveries have not gone away and may be resurfacing as COVID-19 surges and container volumes soar
07 Dec 2020
A tighter focus on transportation and technology following a corporate split will improve the service and experience XPO offers to shippers globally, the company and transportation analysts say
07 Dec 2020
Intermodal executives want to address the chronic congestion issues in 2020 with railroads and BCOs, but universally accepted solutions are hard to come by.
27 Nov 2020
Automation, self-invoicing bolster traditional third-party payment audit model
17 Nov 2020
Shippers will need to look not just at multiple transportation modes, but across modes, to secure capacity in 2021, digital broker Loadsmart said.
05 Nov 2020
An ‘insatiable demand’ for truck capacity and a US loan are helping LTL operator YRC Worldwide expand capacity and intermodal services in the Central-South.
23 Oct 2020
Union Pacific Railroad says service is now fluid on its intermodal network after the “bumpiness” experienced over the summer; intermodal marketing companies, however, dispute that.
21 Oct 2020
Union Pacific Railroad will raise the surcharge on small shippers to $1,000 on excess contract cargo beginning Oct. 25, a signal that rail-owned containers remain in short supply on the West Coast.
16 Oct 2020
J.B. Hunt said intermodal results were worse than anticipated because of major network congestion in rail terminals and shippers sitting on containers, which may not ease until 2021.
23 Sep 2020
Domestic intermodal volumes already elevated compared with a year ago and there are signs that international intermodal is on the upswing too.
11 Sep 2020
The surge in domestic intermodal has spread from Los Angeles to Oakland-Lathrop and Union Pacific will raise surcharges on shippers to ensure equipment is available for core customers.
09 Sep 2020
When it comes to the Inland Point Intermodal market, it’s a 40-foot world; thus far in 2020, 40-foot containers comprise just over three out of every four IPI revenue moves.
01 Sep 2020
Third-party logistics provider Transplace looks to expand its shipper customer base through the acquisition of LeanCor, a supply-chain company focused on lean manufacturing.
06 Aug 2020
Intermodal volume, rates, and savings have been on a rollercoaster this year, surging this summer to levels higher than a year ago after steep declines this spring during the height of the pandemic.
29 Jul 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic, hopping from one hotspot to another, is scattering pieces of the supply chain capacity puzzle, leading to “dislocation,” J.B. Hunt’s Shelley Simpson says.
29 Jul 2020
Small shippers will have to pay a $500 surcharge on excess cargo on Union Pacific, as both western US Class I railroads struggle to handle the surge in volume out of Los Angeles.
24 Jul 2020
Union Pacific Railroad blames volatile swings in volume for congestion in Los Angeles in June, but intermodal marketing companies say it remains difficult to find space on trains because of a surge in e-commerce business.
23 Jul 2020
After wild swings in intermodal volume in the second quarter, CSX Transportation and Union Pacific Railroad are cautiously optimistic about peak season volumes, while realizing pandemic disruptions are lurking.
17 Jul 2020
Despite an unexpected uptick in intermodal volume to close the second quarter, J.B. Hunt Transport Services says third-quarter consumer demand remains unpredictable due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
07 Jul 2020
Intermodal shippers are increasingly putting pressure on 3PLs to waive container fees as a precondition for business amid the coronavirus-linked recession.
09 Jun 2020
Intermodal is not seeing the same rebound in demand as trucking since the economic shutdown owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, and research firm FTR Associates does not believe containerized rail volume will fully recover to 2019 levels until sometime in 2021.
01 Jun 2020
The acquisition of FMIC from Chainalytics helps transform DAT Solutions into a broader freight intelligence business aimed at enabling shippers, brokers, and truckers to understand freight costs and pricing.
21 May 2020
Domestic intermodal volume in April suffered its worst month in eight years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with intermodal marketing companies saying May might end as poorly, if not worse.
11 May 2020
A refrigerated rail service sold by Union Pacific Railroad to shippers has shut down amid the COVID-19 downturn in volumes and competition from rival BNSF Railway and other large IMCs.
08 May 2020
JOC’s Spot Intermodal Savings Index hit an 14-month low in a preliminary April reading, the first snapshot of how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the math on how much money intermodal can save a shipper.
29 Apr 2020
Norfolk Southern Railway insists that no matter how far truck rates fall, it will not chase the market down by providing unsustainable rates to shippers, but rather focus on innovative ideas such as mixed trains.
23 Apr 2020
North American intermodal volume may plunge as much as 25 percent in the second quarter, so railroads believe the right strategy is to focus on cost-cutting while providing reliable service.
15 Apr 2020
J.B. Hunt Transport Services acknowledges a rough second quarter is ahead, while there’s much unknown about how severe the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on business conditions will be.
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Commentary
Industry 4.0 — the next supply chain revolution