International rail

Ohio-based intermodal services company COFC Logistics is launching two intermodal services that will move 53-foot containers northbound from Mexico City as trucking capacity tightens and cargo volumes increase.

After a nationwide trucker strike last May, transportation providers like Maersk and Brazilian railroad Brado are taking a multimodal approach to avoid becoming overly dependent on a volatile trucking market.

The French ocean carrier’s latest intermodal offering aligns with its strategic goal of offering more integrated supply chain services, as well as an Indian government goal to convert more container cargo from truck to rail.

Dallas cargo owners will lose a rail option to Houston in late April

Rising demand on its Asia-Europe express network is seeing UPS make some big investments in infrastructure and aircraft capacity to keep up.

Kansas City Southern has resumed service after protesters lifted a blockade that had shut down lines to and from Mexico's two largest ports.

Concor has entered into a strategic cooperation deal with Russia’s JSC RZD Logistics.

Security and service problems face Mexico's intermodal sector as it seeks to expand its share of the reefer market.

The closure of rail lines at the two biggest ports on Mexico's Gulf Coast is shutting down supplies to manufacturers.

Amid tightening Mexican truck capacity, rail has an opportunity to attract smaller shippers.

Truckers and equipment providers in Mexico should find it easier to lease intermodal equipment if the country's first uniform interchange agreement goes ahead.

Shortages in rail equipment, as well as dry and refrigerated containers, are increasing pressure on exporter operations.

Mexico faces a wealth of uncertainty as it enters 2019, but it is unlikely to unravel the trade sector’s strength.

For the past few months, nearly 900 TEU of Dhaka ICD-bound containers remained delayed at the port, daily.

The network has evolved from a series of single shipper-driven services to more than 50, and a unique rail advantage, along with growing national economies, is at the core of the uptrend.

The volume increases at Rotterdam and Antwerp come despite a steady decline in container imports from Asia that can be seen in the latest data from Container Trades Statistics.

China is expected to begin enforcing a rule early in 2019 that will allow only full trains leaving for Europe to be subsidized, but judging from the industry reaction to the move, it is not expected to have much impact on the rapidly expanding network.

The new Amsterdam link will provide greater service resilience for the Netherlands-Italy rail option, as the connections to the two Dutch ports will run on different routes, enabling a flexible response to any rail-related or port-related delays, according to Samskip UK trade manager David Besseling.

China’s government has invested billions in the China-Europe rail network, and volume, propelled by subsidies, has surged. However, those subsidies have created other downsides for shippers and the broader market.

The new route connects the South Korean port of Busan and Russia’s port of St. Petersburg and involves the port of Vladivostok as a transit hub and then the Trans-Siberian Railway to move container cargo to Russia and other European destinations.

The Rhine-Alpine Gateway is one of Europe’s most important rail routes connecting the Mediterranean ports with the economic heartland of Central Europe, handling half of the trade between northern Europe and Italy via Switzerland.

The China-Europe rail services have been growing rapidly as shippers seek a price/time middle ground to that offered by costly-in-comparison and faster air cargo services to cheaper but slower ocean routing.

Historically, Russia attracted Asia-Europe cargo largely destined for Northern Europe. But now Russia wants another piece of the Asia-Europe transport pie.

China-to-Europe via Russia rail transport has been in an uptrend since 2013, and global growth and consumer trends point to even stronger growth ahead if rail officials can meet the infrastructure and related needs of shippers.

E-commerce and high-speed rail are enabling China-Europe rail services to give the air cargo industry a run for its money.

Asia-Europe shippers are looking more at southern European ports as intermodal bottlenecks slow container delivery through some of the big North Europe gateways.

Cargo can now make the East Russia-Europe trip in about six to seven days, as opposed to 10 to 11 days previously, owing to railway improvements that enable higher speeds.

Container Corporation of India Ltd.’s train will transport 60 TEU in its debut journey, which will be treated as a trial run. Officials will start regular service within two months, after removing any bottlenecks identified during the trial trip.

The Mexican agency probing allegations of a lack of competition in the country's railroad sector has dropped the case, saying there is insufficient proof.

According to railroad RZD, container cargo delivery time on the new rail route will be substantially shorter than sea transport.

The European Union is pushing further for rail freight development. In addition to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent, facilitating the free circulation of goods within Europe is part of the European Union's DNA. And the quality of inland transportation is a key success factor regarding port development.

The key north-south rail link is flowing again, after the section between Milan and Basel had been closed for two weeks, but challenges remain, as terminals work to clear a huge container backlog.

Russia would like more cargo containers transported by rail in the years ahead.

Chinese shippers of fresh produce to Russia may soon have a cheaper option for transporting products to the Moscow markets as rail freight enters the picture.

The improving economies of Central Asia are pushing up demand for rail freight across Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.

Not all shipping hubs are water-based. Land-locked Belarus is strategically positioned, geographically, to become a major transit hub for container cargo transported from China to the European Union via train and truck.

The upgrade to the line is driven by the long-term outlook for refined product exports to Mexico, the company said.

The company said the line, dubbed the Kathmandu Express, is designed to meet Nepal's growing import trade.

The launch of the new route became possible only after the lifting of sanctions against Iran by the international community.

The rails' inability to increase their market share over road could threaten public funding of the sector.