Intermodal providers

The unseasonably cold front that moved through Chicago last weekend provided railroads and shippers a chilly reminder that the rail gridlock seen in winter 2013-2014 could occur again.

The average amount intermodal providers charged customers for shipping a U.S. intermodal unit declined last month on a year-over-year basis, the first time since January 2013.

Shanghai may be the busiest container port in the world, but almost half the boxes that cross its wharves every year are first carried down the mighty Yangtze River from manufacturing hubs deep inland.

Norfolk Southern Railway doesn’t expect rail service to start getting back to normal levels until the end of March 2015, with most customers not seeing any improvement until November 2014.

International intermodal volume growth in North America dropped markedly in August, providing another sign that the lack of a U.S. West Coast longshore contract hangs less on retailers’ necks because the majority of their holiday goods have arrived in the U.S.

Delays this year in moving agricultural products by rail and barge from the Upper Midwest to ports in the Pacific Northwest and Gulf Coast could undermine the position of the U.S. as the world’s premier supplier of soybeans, a transportation specialist told the annual meeting of the Midwest Shippers Association Wednesday.

The volume of intermodal units moving on North American railroads last week rose year-over-year, according to the Association of American Railroads, a sign that the peak season is now kicking in for intermodal shippers as the ocean peak recedes.

A jump in intermodal spot rates could mean peak season is kicking in for intermodal shippers.

The U.S. intermodal sector has experienced significant growing pains, ranging from more concentrated discharge of import cargo at marine terminals to a deterioration in rail service. The inability of motor carriers to attract enough drivers to handle growth in demand also puts pressure on the so-called first and last miles of the intermodal legs.

International intermodal traffic growth on the U.S. rail network is showing signs of tapering off, suggesting the peak season for U.S. imports might already have passed. Still, intermodal experts aren’t ready to pronounce an end to the inventory buildup ahead of the holiday season.

U.S. marine container chassis lessor Direct ChassisLink Inc. plans to expand into ownership, management and leasing of 53-foot domestic equipment, and says newly acquired equipment and technology provider REZ-1 will play a key role.

Intermodal spot rates are higher than they were a year ago, and busy-season pricing is beginning to take the spot rates even higher.

Expansion of Duisburg’s container terminals has entered a new stage, taking the large German inland river port one step closer to meeting increased demand and additional rail traffic.

Port San Antonio named a new president and CEO on Aug. 25, tapping a 25-year economic development veteran to lead the inland industrial development agency.

International intermodal volume growth in North America in in July slowed from the month before, but the gains were still healthy, and a robust forecast for U.S. maritime imports for this month suggest the shipment of marine containers could kick into a higher gear.

Although freight volumes and expenditures in the U.S. are beginning to see seasonal drops, numbers still remain higher than last year’s tallies.

Inland 40-foot container capacity was at a premium in the United States in the first half of 2014, although space is becoming more available as the second half advances.

Cold Train, a provider of refrigerated intermodal transport from Washington state throughout the rest of the country, has ended service, citing poor BNSF Railway performance.

North American intermodal volume growth this year appears to be on track to exceed the 4.6 percent gain seen in 2013 after traffic rocketed 8.2 percent year-over-year in the second quarter.

Rail service continues to sputter, showing little improvement from levels seen during the depths of winter. Why?

After seeing “substandard” intermodal rail service cut its container utilization in the second quarter, the Hub Group expects gradual service improvement from its main partners...

U.S. intermodal service appears to have slipped again last week, suggesting that the major railroads’ rebound after a brutal winter wracked their networks and shippers’ supply chains will be one of fits and starts.

Cargo growth at a major intermodal complex outside of Chicago has triggered a fight between the developer and users of the inland port and a village fearful of accidents caused by the increased congestion.

Hub Group is adding equipment, technology and drayage drivers in an effort to improve intermodal fluidity.

Intermodal rail shippers could see an uptick in rates not just because truckload pricing will rise, but also because the U.S. and Canadian railroads want to throttle back volume growth to keep favorable margins, a noted rail analyst said.

U.S. intermodal service doesn’t appear to have improved significantly since severe winter weather and rising traffic crippled most rail networks and disrupted shipper supply chains in the first four months of the year.

Severe intermodal delays during the harsh winter appear to have burned U.S. shippers, causing them to slow down on how much volume they will shift from the highway to the rails over the next 12 months.

How fast U.S. and Canadian railroads can improve their intermodal services over the next several weeks, after a devastating winter, will determine how much domestic volume growth they will see this year.

CHICAGO — Chicago is living up to its reputation as the nation’s transportation bottleneck.

Some shippers this winter couldn’t deal with tightening truck capacity by shifting loads to intermodal trains even if they wanted to.

U.S. intermodal should see another year of robust demand, provided that rail service recovers following service disruptions in the first quarter, according to an executive from Hub Group.

The Port of Tacoma is working with the two western railroads, its local provider (Tacoma Rail), cargo transloaders, Washington State exporters and trans-Pacific ocean carriers to enhance intermodal rail service from the port.

South Carolina’s new inland port at Greer will get a big increase in the volume of autos and containers it handles for rail shipment to and from the Port of Charleston over the next couple of years. The leg up will come from the $1 billion investment that BMW announced March 28 to expand production at its automobile plant in nearby Spartanburg over the next two years.

The inland port of Monterrey, Mexico, is attracting new shippers, and new customs legislation will allow existing and future tenants to more easily tap foreign trade zone benefits.

A Michigan-based company has acquired the operator of a refrigerated intermodal rail service, known as ColdTrain, and plans to at least triple Rail Logistics’ container fleet over the next five years.

New and expanding refrigerated rail services are delivering new options for smaller food shippers who soon could be left out in the cold by western railroads as thousands of 50-year-old mechanical boxcars are retired in the coming years.

U.S. domestic intermodal rate growth this year is expected to still be moderate, but some indicators suggest pricing has ramped up in recent months, largely because shippers are seeing tighter truck capacity or plan to struggle with securing over-the-road space.

Gateway Distriparks Ltd., India’s leading port-based logistics provider, reported its consolidated net income in the third quarter of fiscal year 2013-14 was $5.1 million, up 13 percent from $4.5 million in the same period in 2012.