Intermodal providers

Despite multiple highly disruptive exterior events, from hurricanes to labor strikes, there has not been an intermodal service meltdown in North America, writes Larry Gross.

As US trade with Mexico grows, railroads see a chance to challenge the dominance of the Mexican trucking industry — if the railroads’ intermodal partners can lock in new business and deliver reliable service.

The completion of initial clearance improvements allows CSX to operate double-stack rail service on a temporary route from Baltimore along its network in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and into the Midwest.

UP’s CEO Jim Vena, during the railroad’s Q3 earnings call, appeared to take a shot at ocean carriers for not informing landside stakeholders sooner about the heavy volumes that landed along the West Coast in recent months.

Frontloading of peak season cargo might have been a factor in why domestic intermodal volumes were higher than expected in the third quarter.

The Class I railroads are acquiring separate sections of a rail line in Alabama and Mississippi, allowing them to launch a new joint intermodal service between Mexico and the Southeast US.

A source with knowledge of Friday’s incident said the UP train was being interchanged to Norfolk Southern Railway, although it’s unclear why the train was stationary in a residential area.

The second-largest US intermodal provider believes a partnership with a large Mexican carrier will present an attractive option for cross-border shippers.

Figuring out why growth in intermodal volumes between Mexico and the US is significantly lagging that of trucking demand will be crucial to unlocking one of intermodal’s biggest growth opportunities, writes Journal of Commerce analyst Larry Gross.

While shippers and intermodal providers agree that rail cargo theft is a problem, there is no consensus about the right solution.

Intermodal providers believe shippers of time-sensitive cargo can rely on rail, but some potential customers need to see more evidence of consistent service, executives told the Journal of Commerce Inland Distribution Conference 2024 (Inland24).

Shipping executives say domestic intermodal rates are set for a rise as trucking pricing expands, but they’re not expecting significant increases.

The increased fees are the latest sign that freight demand in California remains red hot in September, while other high-volume lanes are seeing minimal growth from 2023 levels.

Today’s dilemma is whether the new external realities of activist investors can coexist with an industry with long lead times to deploy assets that cannot be moved, writes Ted Prince.

The railroads say they can store some export containers after the Oct 1 strike deadline, but exporters will also shoulder the responsibility for holding their cargo if a possible work stoppage drags on.

CSX and NS might see some more West Coast cargo routed through Chicago to Michigan and Ohio if there is an East Coast port strike, but trucking is likely to be the main beneficiary for cargo owners booking true coast-to-coast hauls.

Alone among the modes, the railroads are not able to say “no” to the demands of interior point intermodal (IPI), most recently seen in the surge of imports through the US Pacific Northwest and the congestion that followed, writes intermodal analyst Larry Gross.

The Port of Vancouver is still berthing ships for now, but ocean carriers are reviewing future calls due to the potential for congestion caused by the Canadian railroad work stoppage.

Demand for domestic containers in the region has exceeded all other North American markets and intermodal providers believe more volume will be coming their way in September.

As US trade with Mexico grows, railroads see a chance to challenge the dominance of the Mexican trucking industry — if the railroads’ intermodal partners can lock in new business and deliver reliable service.

A shutdown of Canada’s two freight railroads would not only impact loads in that country, but also cross-border traffic to US destinations such as Chicago.

Canada’s labor minister said he won’t force binding arbitration between Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and their main union, setting the stage for a lockout next week.

The percentage of import TEUs arriving in Los Angeles and Long Beach and departing as domestic transloads should rise significantly in the third quarter, analyst Larry Gross says.

UP’s containerized intermodal volume is up 6% in July as West Coast imports grow and the threat of a strike diverts some Canadian international intermodal freight.

Joni Casey played a critical role in the expansion of the Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Agreement, a set of governing rules over the transfer of containers from one mode to another.

The current chaos playing out in the container market globally doesn’t have to last that long to have some big impacts on North American intermodal, writes Larry Gross.

The issue of whose chassis to use to haul a container remains unclear as more truckers opt to use their own, but ocean carriers and pools also look to supply the market.

The railroad is tackling one of the major pain points at the Atlanta-area terminal after congestion had gotten so bad in recent years that fleets would pay drivers extra just to go into the facility.

Changes in container volumes arriving in a particular port are driven by general economic conditions affecting the overall level of imports and the choice of that port as the import gateway for inland regions, writes analyst Larry Gross.

Ancora Holdings is trying to unseat Norfolk Southern’s current leadership in part because of mistakes it believes the railroad’s executives have made in the intermodal business.

Elevated dwell times are not just a function of a lack of planning on the part of the railroads, but an inevitability that shippers need to consider for planning processes, writes analyst Larry Gross.

Nearby gateways are preparing to handle the diversion of vessels and freight that would have landed at Baltimore at least through May following the port’s indefinite closure.

Some of the 18 container ships that were due to arrive at the now-closed Port of Baltimore over the next couple of weeks are now scheduled for new calls at New Jersey, Norfolk and Philadelphia.

The railroad believes requiring appointments and grounding containers into stacks will improve the flow of trucks through its terminal outside Atlanta.

The port operator has grown its global forwarding footprint to 100 offices, using its network of terminals, warehouses, road and rail to provide greater visibility and control of shipments.

If the Southern California inland point intermodal surge continues into the “danger zone,” then importers might do well to consider taking advantage of alternate routings in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada, says analyst Larry Gross.

TRAC Intermodal is investing in its fleet and positioning equipment in inland markets that saw the worst chassis shortages in 2021 and 2022, CEO Daniel Walsh told TPM24.

Although the port is losing some intermodal service to the Midwest, demand is surging to core inland cities within the Southeast US.

The railroads say more vessels calling Houston translates into heavier volumes that will help intermodal services from the port gain traction this time.

Simpson will become the first woman to take the top job at J.B. Hunt, something many in the industry expected to happen after she was named president 18 months ago.