North-American rail

Intermodal providers say they are struggling to bring 53-foot containers into UP’s terminals in Chicago and nearby Joliet, causing delays of several days to move cargo to the West Coast.

In approving the $31 billion merger, the Surface Transportation Board rejected arguments from the FMC and competing railroads that the deal would harm US ports and shippers.

It stands to reason that the more miles one spends on low-cost rail, the better the comparative economics versus truck should be, but that’s not what happens in the real world, writes analyst Larry Gross.

Norfolk Southern and the Port of Virginia are not only targeting importers using trans-Atlantic services from Europe and Asia, but also exporters moving goods through Memphis, such as the cotton industry.

Transloading is gaining popularity even as US imports have cooled in recent months, but shippers should weigh the pros and cons of transferring ocean containers into domestic boxes, TPM23 attendees were told.

Canadian National will grow its capacity based on the assumption that China will remain the biggest sourcing country for North America while acknowledging the shift under way into Southeast Asia, India, and potentially Africa that could fuel cargo through eastern Canada, its CEO told TPM23.

The policy — known informally as the “no cherry picking” rule — prohibited trucking companies from coming into terminals with private chassis when there were no pool chassis available.

Fritz did not elaborate on what role the activist investor played in his decision to step aside, but the announcement came shortly after Soroban Capital wrote that “current [UP] management is not capable of driving a strong operating performance.”

Volume declines are forcing intermodal providers to stack containers, unable to find cargo to fill the boxes because shippers have too much inventory, while trucking prices are so low that the freight is moving on highways.

With just under $50 billion in fresh investments unveiled last year for electric vehicle manufacturing plants in North America, ports in the Southeast and along the Gulf Coast are expecting additional volumes to soon be moving across their docks.

Union Pacific is changing operations at its terminal outside Chicago in a bid to prevent future disruption by creating stacks for containers arriving from California, a move that will affect tens of thousands of ocean boxes per month.

Mobile’s inland intermodal reach is getting a boost from a planned $60 million investment by APM Terminals into the port’s container railyard.

Shippers saved less than in prior quarters on their intermodal contracts to close 2022, setting up a race to the bottom this year to keep freight on the rails.

Norfolk Southern’s plan to bring more capacity to its international intermodal business this year has kicked off with new cranes enabling the stacking of marine containers at its Austell ramp in Georgia.

US Class I railroads are taking steps to address quality-of-life issues for their employees, including reducing on-call positions, avoiding furloughs, and introducing more flexible working structures.

The approximately 72-hour repair on a bridge in New Mexico would appear to mitigate what could potentially have been a major disruption for UP’s international and domestic intermodal shippers.

An outage involving a bridge in New Mexico in the heart of Union Pacific’s network is causing major delays for intermodal and automotive shippers between Southern California and two major inland hubs.

The Class I railroad vowed it would focus on providing better service to shippers in 2023 and move to heal wounds from tense labor negotiations by addressing quality-of-life issues affecting its workforce.

If inland rail ramps remain congested due to chassis shortages and discretionary imports continue to flow away from the West Coast to the East Coast, international intermodal volumes could decline for a second straight year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services will focus on working with shippers to empty containers in a more expedited manner as freight is moving slower than ever with box turn ratios falling for four consecutive years.