Rail News

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.

There’s not enough truck capacity to haul the volume carried by CN and CPKC in Canada, and that’s causing a dislocation of truck supply across the country and on the US border.

Canada’s western ports have little capacity to handle idled intermodal cargo should railroad workers strike, but eastern ports have more space to manage any delays.

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.

Acquiring a majority stake in Loconi International continues the Singapore-based terminal operator’s growth strategy designed to expand control of its cargo handling beyond the quay.

A potential strike by Canada’s two railroads, while an “inconvenience,” would not pose an “immediate and serious danger” to the public, the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruled Friday.

The average contract cost savings for a shipper choosing intermodal rail over truckload in the US was just over 25% in the second quarter, according to the latest Journal of Commerce Intermodal Savings Index.

The $83 million project, which took two years to complete, adds another 455,000 TEUs of annual on-dock rail capacity at NIT.

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.

Norfolk Southern believes a mandatory reservation system for trucking companies bringing containers into its terminals will improve fluidity and prevent congestion from building.

While intermodal demand is not strong in the eastern US, there is surging demand in Southern California that could result in providers levying peak season surcharges on some shippers.

Ottensmeyer spent 17 years with Kansas City Southern Railway until the merger with Canadian Pacific Railway in 2023, then served on J.B. Hunt’s board of directors.

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.

The gateways say they are well-positioned to take on additional diversions from the East and Gulf coasts should an ILA strike occur after the current labor deal expires at the end of September.

Ocean carriers and shippers are diverting some intermodal freight to US ports to counter the threat of a Teamsters strike against Canadian railroads.

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 largest intermodal company in North America is skeptical that the market is turning away from shippers, saying it needs more evidence before believing carriers have gained the upper hand in pricing negotiations.

Mexico’s domestic intermodal market is benefiting from the relatively new “near-shoring” trend, writes intermodal analyst Lawrence Gross.

Market conditions appear more favorable toward carriers today compared with 12 months ago, but the pendulum is close to a balanced domestic intermodal market heading into the back half of 2024.

Ongoing demand from cargo owners unable to find space with ocean carriers is placing the rail network from China to Europe under increasing pressure with congestion building at key points.

Meeting the European Union emissions reduction targets for transportation will require a significant modal shift in freight from road to the rails over the next few years, but that is being undermined by EU regulations, according to industry groups.

The February decision from the agency said ocean carriers can mandate which chassis to use for carrier haulage business, but not for merchant haulage.

The market share of loads entering or exiting the port’s Garden City Terminal on train has increased from a year ago as the Georgia Ports Authority grows into a relatively new on-dock rail yard.

The port is the latest inland location in the western US looking to capitalize on strict regulations in California that are driving up costs for trucking companies.

Domestic intermodal service has been significantly better so far this year compared with the pandemic-disrupted years of 2020 to 2022, but shippers remain reluctant to tender some freight to the railroads, a Journal of Commerce survey found.

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.

After a successful one-off exercise involving 300 containers moving through Terminal 18 in Seattle, the Northwest Seaport Alliance will seek to convince ocean carriers to implement greater use of block stowage of rail cargo on vessels leaving Asia.

Cargo theft on the rails is becoming highly organized, with criminals targeting specific pallets inside containers being carried on a train rather than ransacking boxes at random.

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.

Intermodal executives are trying to address container thefts through more security measures as shippers become increasingly frustrated with the problem.

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.

The average cost savings for a shipper choosing intermodal rail over truckload was about 26% in the first quarter, according to the latest Journal of Commerce Intermodal Savings Index.

Alan Shaw will remain in his position as CEO of Norfolk Southern, but Ancora Holdings gained leverage on the railroad’s board of directors, winning three seats.

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.

Terminal operators in Vancouver are bracing for a possible strike by railroad conductors and engineers later this month just as the terminals are beginning to experience reduced rail container dwell times.

US rail unions have opposed measures that would allow Mexican crews to take trains across the border because they are reluctant to relinquish jurisdiction on transits within southern Texas.

A rise in US imports is fueling optimism, especially among ocean carriers, but manufacturing’s malaise is tempering hopes for a broader transportation recovery.